From the Ashes
by EverD
Summary: Their world ended and so, they went to sleep, dreaming of memories of a time since passed. Enter Harry Potter, who only wanted to become an animagus like his father and godfather before him. Of course, being Harry, he couldn't have a normal form. As such, he gains friends in high places and a motherly Pokemon intent on keeping him safe and out of harms way. Starts summer of GoF.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Pokémon. The only thing I do own is the story idea.

"Talk"

'Think'

"_Telepathy"_

**AN:** You might be wondering why I'm starting yet another fanfiction when I have, like, three others or so that I should be writing/completing. To be honest, I've hit a bit of a dead end with the other ones. I'm still writing them, but sheer frustration makes me not even want to bother. That and this plot bunny has been attacking my brain for days! So here ya go, new story. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

The beast stumbled on unsteady paws, the cracked, yawning expanse of rock and debris making walking difficult for the animal. It stared at the destruction before it, glimmering blue eyes outlined in crimson wide and fearful. _"No, this cannot be,"_ the being thought, eyes searching as it continued to move in stumbling, weaving steps. It slipped easily from walking bipedally, to moving quickly on all fours, its maw opening and ushering out a haunting cry. The sky above was hidden, covered by clouds colored a sickly brown. The clouds were heavy and oppressive, blocking most of the light from the ground beneath it.

Again, the beast cried out, pausing as the echoing sound of its own voice came back to it, empty and with no reply. "_No! Where are you! Where is everybody! Please!"_ the animal begged as it finally came to a stop. The beast crunched the ground with crimson colored claws, tears spilling off grey furred cheeks to drip and moisten the destroyed ground on which it stood, defeated and weary. "_Son?!….Celebi?! Arceus! Someone…anyone,"_ the animal whispered, falling into unrepentant sobs.

"Celebi!" cried out a voice, breaking the unnaturally still world around them and a weary, brown tinged fey looking creature appeared. Its wide eyes gave it the appearance of extreme innocence, but within the depths of the glimmering blue eyes showed times past and those yet to happen. "_Old friend, you survived? Until I heard your cry, felt your energy, I thought I was mistaken in what I had seen," _Celebi stated lightly, fluttering gently above the cracked and desiccated earth.

"_I…I suppose I must've survived, or this is hell. I didn't…expect this. There was a rush of noise, a bright light and then…everything was gone. What happened Celebi?"_ The animal asked, heaving itself up to a halfway sitting position.

"_The end. Everything must end sometime; I just didn't expect you to last as well. I…must admit, our time together, healing you all those years ago, must have put some of time in you,"_ Celebi replied honestly as its luminescent wings fluttered once more upon its back. It stared out at the desolate world with a soft smile, tinged with nostalgia and regret. What stood before them had once been a great and mighty forest and now, nothing but cracked earth, dust and ash.

"_Who else lives Celebi? What do I do now? What do WE do now?" _The Zoroark asked, following the green Pokémon's eyes to stare at the world around them. It's great crimson mane, tipped in black, drifted in the hot, acrid breeze that was kicking up, causing the Zoroark to cover it's snout with a paw. "_What about my son? Am I the last?"_

_"There are many of us left and yet very little compared to how many Pokémon used to exist," _Celebi answered with a blink of its eyes, "_All that are left are the great and legendary. Us gods of the Pokémon world. Some of us, however, have perished like others. You ask what happen and I can tell you little. It happened so fast, but…our world has ended and from the ashes shall arise another one. We may survive it, or not, it all depends on us and our willpower to live."_ Celebi lowered his eyes as he finished speaking, before glancing back up at the weary Pokémon before him, "_Your son perished like all the others, human and Pokémon alike. It happened quickly, none of them felt any pain, I promise you that. Of your kind, much like us, you are the last and only."_

_ "I suppose I should be thankful for that, for your words, but I just feel…sad. My child is gone Celebi. The world is gone, and yet I live,_ Zoroark muttered lightly, heaving a sigh and bringing itself up to stand tall. "_You didn't answer the last question though Celebi. What do we do now?"_

Celebi glanced up at the Zoroark before him, taking in the contrast of the female now and the young mother Zoroark he had met so many years before. "_We find ourselves somewhere comfortable and we sleep. We'll wake again when we are needed, or when we wish."_

_ "You will stay with me?"_

_ "Always old friend. I would not wish for anyone to sleep alone. Come, I know a place that will stay hidden with our abilities. Time and Illusion should create a lasting spell to keep us well hidden,"_ Celebi replied as it fluttered its wings strongly and flew slowly out into the encroaching dusk. Zoroark took one last look at the dead world before her and followed, sighing softly;

"_I will remember you always my son. May you sleep well and Arceus watch over your soul."_

* * *

It took ages, but the destroyed world started again, like Celebi had said it would. The large sheet of clouds that coated the world, after several years, finally dropped its load, flooding the world with life giving waters. Wind picked up, fluffing the clouds and clearing them away from a sky that hadn't been seen by anything for almost one hundred years and wouldn't be seen by anything for another few hundred. The slumbering legendary Pokémon that lay beneath the world, either hidden in high caves deep within mountains or underneath the turbulent seas unknowingly spread their energies across the barren world. The energy gave birth to life, to trees and with Arceus careful, though weary guidance; the world blinked open infant eyes and grew. Millennium's passed and the Pokémon still slept, awakening only on occasion with they were needed, or when they wished to see the progress that the new life was doing.

Their energy gave birth to something innately new though, and that was wizards who drew upon the energy soaked into the ground and their own magical core. However, one Pokémon never woke; staying asleep and content in dreams and that was Zoroark. He lay resting in the highest reaches of the now dubbed Himalayan Mountains, peaceful with his memories. He had no reason to awake, and thus slept on.

* * *

Harry Potter, boy wizard extraordinaire, lounged in the smallest bedroom of number four private Drive. It was two weeks to his fourteenth birthday and he was currently doing something that was somewhat…illegal. What stood before Harry Potter was the culmination of almost three years of studying. Ever since his first year and seeing Professor McGonagall turn into a tabby cat, he had the insane urge to do the same. Learning that his father, and newly met godfather, was an animagus only cemented the belief that he was meant to become one as well. Hermione probably would have been proud of him for studying so much and for so long…if it wasn't for the fact that what he was about to do was somewhat…illegal, that is to say it would be illegal if anyone found out and he was above the age of seventeen. Nifty little loophole there, but still, Hermione probably would be seething and coming after him like an angry goose. He could almost hear her voice,

"Harry James Potter! How could you do something so…so irresponsible and dangerous! Are you asking to be killed or expelled?!"

'She'd probably say something similar to that, at least," Harry mused as he stared at the bubbling cauldron before him. Part of him did feel guilty though, not allowing his friends to know what he was up to, what he had planned, but the other part of him was filled with gleeful anticipation. "Well, at the very least Sirius will be proud of me," he muttered to himself as he added a handful powdered moonstone and four drops of his blood before stirring clockwise, holding his breath as the potion frothed angrily, before settling down and turning an iridescent gold. He sat back, patiently waiting for the potion to turn aquamarine and let his thoughts drift to his other best mate.

Ron. Ron was the first friend he'd ever had, but it didn't take a genius that Ron would be torn between amusements and probably jealousy. After that, well, maybe he'd feel hurt that Harry hadn't included him on this bout of rule breaking, but if everything worked out alright, he'd teach them the art. Or let them look at his notes and get them to teach themselves considering he didn't considering himself much of a teacher really. At any rate, he knew neither would understand his overwhelming urge to become an animagus and it mostly stemmed as a way to feel closer to his dearly departed father and his godfather, who was on the run currently due to Pettigrew escaping during the end of term.

Harry was startled out of his thoughts as the potion blinked a faint white and bled, from the center outwards, aquamarine blue and spit up silver sparks. "Hah! Take that Professor Snape!" Harry whispered as he gently dipped a ladle in the mixture and dolled himself out one dose. He stared at the potion for a moment, a proud grin sliding over his features as he looked at a potion he had completed, on his own and perfectly. The potion was somewhat hard to make, taking two weeks and needing almost perfect timing to place in the ingredients. He had been planning to brew it at school during his fourth year, but since Sirius enabled him less chores and quite a bit of a free time, he had taken a risk and made the Animagus Revealing Potion. If it worked, and he was sure it would, it would show him his form by forcibly changing him into it. The results wouldn't last long, probably no longer than five minutes, which was why he had nicked a mirror from the bathroom and had it on the floor to look at himself before he changed back.

He hoped for something cool, perhaps with wings or maybe a dog, like Sirius or a stag, like his father. Hell, he'd probably like anything he turned into as long as it wasn't overly stupid, or a rat. "Ah, well…bottoms up!" and with that, he downed the vial in one go, shivering as an icy feeling curled around his body, which seemed to be shrinking downward at an alarming rate. Harry closed his eyes, feeling somewhat nauseous and shivered, waiting for the strange, shrinking _shifting_ sensation to stop. When it did, he felt ecstatic, mildly nauseous and somewhat…_off. _ He assumed it was due to the new paws he found himself to be stumbling on as he tried to make his way to the mirror.

Blinking into his reflection, he was startled to see an unfamiliar animal staring back at him. The creature before him, that was him, wasn't in any of the books he had looked through as he researched what sort of animal he could become, but…it was definitely some sort of fox. His fur was a dark grey, with a mane of black encircling his neck in a comfortable poof. The inside of his ears were black as well, and his tail was quite poofy. The tips of his paws were a crimson color and when he closed one eye, the color of the lid was also red, the same color of his paws, his stub of eyebrows and the top of the silly tuft of hair that grew between his ears, sticking up, though slicking back a bit, and just as unruly as his hair when he was human.

He laughed, a weird sort of chittery hiss escaping his lips as he stared at his form. Despite not knowing what he was, he was quite pleased with his animagus. It was…him, somehow. Harry, so into admiring his form and trying to figure out what he was exactly, was incredibly disappointed when the potion wore off and he was once more, just Harry. Glancing at his hands, he grinned and only had one thing to say, "Wicked." Giving a soft laugh, Harry leapt to his feet, suddenly full of energy and pulled a book towards him. Now that he had taken the potion, the next step was to change his body on his own. Probably the most difficult part, but he felt he was up to the task. After all, practice made perfect.

* * *

As young Harry Potter took the potion and changed into the tiny little form of Zorua, a being that had been extinct for eon's, the pent up energy inside his fox-like form was released, creating ripples around the world. They weakened as they spread farther and farther out, but all the same, they reached a certain slumbering Pokémon, who awoke suddenly, breathing deeply as familiar energy washed over her form. _"Another…a child…unprotected,"_ Zoroark said as he shifted, bones groaning as she shifted and moved, stretched for the first time since she'd first gone to sleep when the world was just a barren wasteland. She turned, facing the opening of her cave; the illusion's covering it kept her safe from prying eyes of any passing living creature. "_A child, like he was, my son. Alone…Celebi?"_ she whispered, glancing about the cave. She saw no sleeping fey creature, but Celebi's energy still permeated the area. The time Pokémon must have just left to wander about. He did so, every hundred or so years. Pulling herself up onto shaky paws, she stumbled to the lip of the cave, shielding her eyes as a blinding expanse of white greeted her. Snow…actual, snow. So the world had recovered then.

Ignoring the landscape, Zoroark closed her eyes and felt the energy. It was faded by the time it hit her, but she stretched her senses along it, following the trail with her mind to where it originated. It was quite a distance, but she was not one to leave a Zorua alone. It needed to be taught and trained and taken care of. It was just a young child too, if the energy had anything to say about it. Zoroark glanced back at her cave, at the warm interior that had kept her safe in her slumber, before she leapt into a snow bank and took off, enjoying the energizing run as she followed the meandering energy trail. "_Do not worry young Zorua. I will find you soon. I will keep you safe."_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Pokémon. The only thing I do own is the story idea.

"Talk"

'Think'

"_Telepathy"_

**AN:** Thank you for all the reviews/follows'/favorites…etc, they really made my day! Also, to the guest (you didn't sign in, so this is pretty much the only way I can answer your question), yes, the Zoroark in the story is the one from the 13th movie.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

It had been a week and a half since Harry had taken the potion and already he was frustrated with his lack of progress. That's not to say that he had none at all, but it was simply taking longer than he thought possible to turn into such a small animal. Speaking of said animagus animal, he had looked through all his school books and had even stolen a few books from Dudley, but found nothing mentioning a small fox that looked like he did. More than that, he was sure his form was magical in some way, as ever since he had changed that one time, he'd felt…different. Of course, that could just be the meshing of instincts brought on by the initial transformation.

The book did say that the longer you practiced, or stayed in such a form, the more traits would pass through. All he did know was he felt a bit more mischievous and sneaky…and it was going to get him in trouble if Vernon ever realized that he was the one that had smeared chocolate spread all over the couch, just before he had sat on it in his new expensive suit. A lot of trouble really. In fact, he'd probably end up dead, or beaten to a bloody pulp, killer godfather or no.

Chuckling to himself, he shook himself out of his thoughts and stared at his bare arms. He had been trying for, well, a week and a half now, and he still only managed a slight tingling in his arms and for red fur to sprout from his forearm down. Sighing, he let the magic dissipate, watching as his arm turned to normal. Flexing his fingers, he smiled, "Well, that was a bit better. Definitely felt something in my fingers that time. Just gotta keep it up," he mused as he shifted from his bed and moved to the window.

The sky outside was dark, lit up only by a mere spattering of stars. The soft rustle of the trees, the feel of the wind, calmed him and with a grunt, he settled on the edge of the window and pulled out a small journal. He had kept it to keep track of the small changes that had happened to him since he had taken the potion.

'Let's see," He thought to himself as he chewed the end of a pencil contemplatively, 'We got mischievousness, the snickering. Can't keep the window closed very often now., makes me twitchy. Hedwig grooms me even more, if that's even possible. I think that's it…Oh! Bed's a veritable nest and still uncomfortable as ever,' he mused silently as he checked down the list of changes and wrote down a few new ones, before glancing up at Hedwig's empty cage. He had sent a letter to Sirius a few days ago, nothing serious written on it as he wanted to keep his animagus training a secret, but the late response was a bit worrying.

"Ah, whatever. He probably went somewhere farther south. He deserves to, after Azkaban," Harry sighed as he chucked his notebook onto his desk and stretched, before standing and making his way to his bed. "I'll practice more tomorrow. I'm way too tired to try again now." Moving into the nest of blankets and pillows, curling up and underneath so that not even a smidgen of his body could be seen, Harry allowed himself to drift off. Tomorrow would be filled with more chores, a severe lack of food (thank goodness for Mrs. Weasley or he'd have starved to death already), and more practice. He was strangely looking forward to it.

* * *

She had been running for days now, across snow and mountainous landscapes. Trees and various, strange, animals blurred past her as she ran, following the trail that, for the most part, existed more in her head than was an actual trail. More than once she'd think she had imagined the energy pulse; that she had gone senile from her long slumber, but every time she was about to pause, to stop, the pulse was sent out again, a little weaker than the original one, but there all the same.

The energy was sporadic too, in the pulses. Zoroark could go hours before another pulse would rush over her form, and yet, a day later the pulse would come every ten minutes, varying in strength. Each time the energy spurred her on even as her limbs protested and shook with weariness.

However, seven suns had passed and her body felt numb and heavy. Her vision had tunneled and gone gray and she was gasping for air. Against her will, her body slumped to the ground, her eyes closing as she focused on breathing. Her body protested even that, aching deep down to the bones, demanding food, water and a proper amount of rest. All the energy she had stored while sleeping had been spent, more than what she had had been spent, and her body was giving up on her. On shaking limbs, Zoroark pushed herself up and trudged, refusing to rest until she at least found a safe place to sleep.

It took another hour, and a bit of scraping on her part, but a small cave no more than two feet in depth, provided her ample enough shelter. Her illusions would cloak it well from any other animals, or people, from getting into it. Moaning softly with pain, Zoroark laid on the ground, curled gently underneath her warm mane. "_I am sorry, little Zorua. I must rest, but be assured, I will find you soon. You won't be alone anymore,"_ she said gently as her eyes closed, rest coming easily to her weary form.

* * *

Days passed in quick succession, each one filled with his new daily regime. Harry would wake and move downstairs to make breakfast for his _darling_ relatives and be allowed a very meager portion of it. With Dudley on a diet due to weighing roughly the size of a killer whale, the only thing that kept the boy appeased was that he got more than Harry did, and sometimes even Vernon. Petunia, as always, ate like a bird, pecking and shredding her food to ribbons before eating any of it.

After making breakfast, he was shoved outside to garden or made to clean the already spotless house. If he gardened, he'd be allowed a shower so that wasn't so bad, but if it was just cleaning the house, he'd be back upstairs, hidden in his room, until dinner or when he was next needed. Still, thanks to Sirius, this summer wasn't so bad. He still got food, his chores were dramatically lessened and he got plenty of time to himself. Harry didn't even mind the chores, as they gave him something to do while his mind wandered over his animagus form.

By now, the fur was sprouting easily and he felt a tingling sensation in his spine. His fingers were shrinking, which was an odd feeling on its own, into paws. While it was slow going, he was making progress; just…he wished it would be going a bit quicker than it was. "Ah well, at least the book said that this is actually pretty fast. Most take almost six months to practice and fully transform, let alone show any traits after the potion is consumed," Harry sighed as he wiggled the digits of his paws, smiling as the claws reflected the half-light of his room.

Other than his inability to be patient, there was another reason Harry was so keen to transform quickly and it had nothing, well…almost nothing, to do with showing his godfather up. That morning the postman had delivered a letter completely coated in stamps from the Weasley's. Mrs. Weasley was asking him over, through his guardians, to come and see the Quidditch World Cup and he was _graciously_ being allowed to go. Harry only had to subtly, and subtly he meant slam a mental sledgehammer through Vernon's brain, that his 'serial killer' godfather would be oh-so disappointed if he couldn't, to be allowed to leave for the rest of the summer.

So he was allowed to go and sent back a quick reply through Pig, Ron's strangely named owl that he'd gotten the end of last term. Hedwig, who had returned two days earlier, was now off and delivering a letter to Sirius about what was going on and probably wouldn't return for awhile. She'd be fine though, he trusted her to take care of herself. Harry was quite happy to go; Quidditch was probably his favorite pastime! Though, admittedly, it was his _only_ pastime, but minor details.

At any rate, his time to practice had been radically diminished and he only had three more days to make any sort of sudden shifts, as when he left for the Weasley's his time to practice would dwindle down to zero. He'd be too busy hanging out with Ron and Hermione, not to mention all the other red-heads that made up the clan and he was still quite firm in his idea to keep this to himself until he could change quickly and easily. That, or…well, never tell them, or not for awhile. He wasn't sure why, but something inside of him was whispering to keep this, his animagus training, a secret. That it would be a good thing to have an ace up his sleeve.

'I'd tell Sirius though. He'd be proud to know his 'pup' managed to do it on his own.' Harry thought with a smile as he shook out his arms, watching as fur receded to slightly tanned skin.

Breathing deeply, Harry once more focused on pulling his magic up, to shift and change. He thought of fur and claws, of mischief and snickering, of the safety of a warm nest, all the things he was sure his animagus thought fondly of. Still, while fur erupted along his form, his spine tingled and his hands turned into paws, it was like he hit a dead end. He could feel the magic curling inside of him, but it was like he was missing a piece of the puzzle. Harry knew what he was to look like, knew over the course of several days what his form probably thought of best, but it was like…one thing was missing. If he could figure it out it would work, he just knew it! Growling in frustration, Harry shifted the minute changes back, blinking at his skin, at his arms, before sighing and allowing himself to fall flat on his best.

The bundle of blankets flattened beneath his form and he shifted, burrowing his face into his pillow as he let his thoughts wander. 'I can do it, I know I can, but I just…I can't, I'm missing something,' he thought as he sighed once more and curled against the blankets, his face nuzzling into the pillow as his body relaxed. 'Maybe I should write another letter to Sirius when Hedwig gets back, if I haven't changed by then. He's gone through this, he probably knows what I'm missing, but…I still want to try and do it on my own! I can do this. I'm strong enough!' A stubborn look crossed over Harry's face, before he turned and buried himself underneath the hodgepodge of blankets.

Beneath the blankets, Harry's body relaxed in slow increments, his breathing evening out as he fell into slumber. As he slept, his nose wrinkled in mild distress, soft little whines emitting from his lips as he moved fitfully, before he calmed once more. Sleeping, Harry dreamed of tall trees and thick grass tussled by gentle winds. He dreamed of strange animals and food, of running and playing and of a place that felt like home; a small cave and a sleep where he was surrounded by the softest red fur and the gentle humming of a song right next to his ear.

In his dream, Harry felt his body give a soft, content sigh as he nuzzled into the fur, jaws opening softly to yawn before closing once more in sleep. '_Ma…'_

Unknown to Harry, while he was sleeping he sent out just one more energy pulse, the only one he was able to do when not practicing his animagus transformation. Held inside of it was a small message, just one word that would spur on the Pokémon so desperate to find him. _"Mother."_

* * *

After sleeping for two days straight, then eating enough food to make a snorlax jealous, Zoroark vowed to never ignore her body like that again. What good would it do to run for so long, for days on end, only to collapse into a puddle of rubbery legs near the end of her journey? No, she needed to keep her strength up and rest on occasion, at least every few days, in case the little Zorua pulsing out his energy was in danger or hurt.

Sighing, Zoroark bit into the apple, chewing the pulp of the fruit with teeth more aptly designed for shredding meat, though fruit was okay as well. She was omnivorous after all. It wasn't like she didn't want to hunt though, she just didn't have time to hunt properly and she was a bit leery of eating anything moving anyway. She finished off the apple and licked her claws clean of the sticky juice. It was when she was just about to head off again, that the pulse hit her.

Closing her eyes, Zoroark listened and felt the energy, letting it wrap around her even as it moved on. It felt…lonely, sad and almost wistful, wanting even. So wrapped up in the emotions, she almost missed the embedded message, _'Mother'_ it whispered to her softly, curling around her mind, evoking thoughts of her son, now dead like most Pokémon were in this world. She cried out, her voice echoing in a mournful howl, before falling silent and wiping away at the tears that now dripped from her eyes.

"_I am so close my little Zorua, I promise, you won't be alone anymore. We'll be together, just hang on a little longer. I will find you, I will keep you safe,"_ she replied as she took off at a run. All thoughts of pacing herself fled from her mind, not when she realized how close she was. That energy pulse had been strong, stronger than the others before it, and following it back showed her she was a little more than halfway there. A few days, maybe another week and she'd have that Zorua safely ensconced in her arms, tucked away from the world and safe.

To her left, the trees fled away, showing coastline and arcing waves filled with the color of the moon and stars. She almost wanted to pause, to take in the sight of such beauty, but continued on. Perhaps she'd show Zorua later. Her old son had loved the ocean, perhaps this one would as well.

* * *

**EverD:** This was done pretty quickly, but don't expect all the chapters to come out so soon. I have a lot of free time at the moment, but might not later in the week. Things are moving a little slowly, but I promise the next chapter will have a bit more action. Anyway, thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Pokémon. The only thing I do own is the story idea.

"Talk"

'Think'

"_Telepathy"_

**AN:** You guys are so awesome! When I started this fic, I didn't see it becoming so popular! Thanks so much for all wonderful reviews/fav's and follows!

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

Harry's last three days of solitude ended far more quickly than he would have liked. He practiced day in and day out, but managed only to change his hands and feet into paws as well gain the red tipped hair/fur. His canines grew, sharpening in his mouth and he even felt the start of a tail forming, but once more he was stuck. He'd practice late into the night until, finally, he'd pass out, unable to practice anymore and his magic weary from trying. Sure, it was better than what he could do three days, or even a week ago, but he had such high hopes that he'd be able to manage it before he had to leave for the Weasleys!

However, thanks to the good ol' Harry Potter luck, something from his animagus side transferred over to his human side. The hair. His had always been quite untamable, so that hadn't changed, but the red he had managed to see growing in while practicing his animagus transformation hadn't changed back. Vernon hadn't been pleased at all, but there was little the overgrown walrus could do, what with Harry's friends coming to pick him soon. After awhile, once Harry had gotten over the shock, he had found himself liking the red crest, as that was all he could think of it as, which formed in his hair. It was unique and a nice touch of rebellion, if he did say so himself.

At any rate, as Sunday dawned bright and early for one Harry James Potter, he was already packed and ready to leave. He had even dismantled his little nest of blankets, though made sure to pack a couple to recreate the thing at Ron's house. He wasn't sure why he had never thought about cuddling into so many blankets to sleep before, but it certainly kept most of his nightmares away and he slept pretty comfortably.

To waste away the hours, Harry practiced a little with his animagus form, growing paws, or a ruffle of fur, but with no idea if Ron and his family would come early, he ended up scrapping that after a good ten minutes and picking up his room. He double, then triple checked, to make sure he wasn't leaving any bits of parchment, books, potion ingredients or journals behind and then did a cursory check under the loose floorboard. Any food sent to him by the Weasley's and Hermione had been eaten ages ago, he was too embarrassed to ask for more, but he found a half empty ink bottle and a couple of chocolate frogs, all of which he quickly packed up.

As five o'clock neared, Harry quit his pacing and sat at the stairs, watching his relatives. Vernon was dressed in his finest suit, no doubt as a ploy to intimidate Mr. Weasley, while Petunia was straightening cushions, her lips pursed into a thin line.

"They'll be driving I expect? They'll be arriving the….the _normal _way?" Vernon asked as he turned to glare at his nephew.

"I think so," Harry replied, watching his Uncle pace, his face turning several interesting colors as he did so. He idly wondered if Fred and George could make a candy, or a prank that did that; make someone's face flash the rainbow or respond to emotions. It was an interesting idea at any rate. Harry relatives fell back into tense silence, ignoring his position on the stairs as they waited the imminent arrival of wizards like one would their hanging day.

But five o'clock came and went and at half past, Vernon tore open the door and glared balefully up and down the street, "They're late!" he snapped as he turned on his nephew, mustache bristling.

"Um…traffic?" Harry offered as way of an excuse.

Snarling, Vernon turned away and muttered, talking mostly with Petunia than himself. "Might've been busy, had to go somewhere. No decency, their sort has."

"Perhaps they think they'll be invited to dinner, if they're late," Petunia said, her beady eyes trained on the couch as her long, thin fingers worked at the pillow, straightening and fluffing them obsessively.

"Well they won't be! They'll take the boy and go, no dawdling!" Vernon replied, swelling up indignantly at the mere idea that someone of _their_ sort would invade his house and dare ask to stay for dinner. "If they arrive at all, at this rate. Probably mistook the day, no doubt _their_ sort aren't known for any punctuality!"

Harry sighed as he watched Vernon gear himself up for one heck of a rant, but was immensely pleased, though quite confused, when it was interrupted by a loud THUMP coming from the boarded up fireplace. The thump startled Vernon so much, that he even screamed something Harry would keep in his memory always. Vernon, the walrus, screaming in fright from a boarded up fireplace. Ah, memories. Even Dudley was providing entertainment of a sort. At the sound of the thump, the boy clamped his hands around his rather wide buttocks and waddled quickly out of the room, hiding somewhere in the kitchen.

"Vernon! Oh Vernon, what is it!?" Petunia gasped as she glanced fearfully at the wall. There had been a fireplace there at some point, a real one, but it had been boarded up since Harry was four and an electric one put it.

"Oh…" Harry mused, a grin stretching his features as he put two and two together. The voices from the other side of the wall sort of helped as well, "They've, that is, they tried to travel by floo powder. Hold on," he added as he stepped closer. "Mr. Weasley, is that you?"

"Harry? Oh gods, I thought something had gone wrong there for a moment. What's happening on your end? There seems to be some sort of –Ouch! Ron, no, try and, oh bother Ugh, Fred!"

Harry snickered as the one voice split into many voices, he could pick out Fred and maybe George's, though he sounded to be squashed against the wall, while Ron's was quite loud and distinctive. "Sorry Mr. Weasley. The fireplace is boarded up, has been for awhile now. They have an electric one instead."

"Do they really?! With a plug and everything?" Mr. Weasley sounded delighted at the thought of an electric fireplace and Harry could only imagine the man's wide eyes, crazed grin and twitching fingers. "Oh, not a bother really. Considering, I could put it back to sorts. Right Harry, if you'd step back a bit?" The older man asked. Harry, knowing exactly what Mr. Weasley had in mind, dived behind the couch. Vernon…wasn't so lucky.

The man swelled with indignation, stepping forward briskly, "Now see here~!" he started, before the wall, with the plugged in electric fireplace, was blasted to smithereens. Bits of plaster, chipped paint and woodchips flew everywhere, coating the Dursley living room in a chocking expanse of white dust and aged soot. Vernon, thanks to the white dust, looked to have aged a good ten years, while Petunia looked near faint thanks to the state of her living room.

There was coughing coming from the once boarded up fireplace and the Weasley's, all four of them, stepped through, dusting off their forms and glancing about the living room with mild interest, or intense if you spotted the look in Mr. Weasley's eyes.

Ron looked over at him and grinned, "Nice hair mate."

Harry gave a smile in turn, "Thanks. Figured the red would fit nicely with the lot of you," he said with a chuckle, falling silent as Mr. Weasley finished dusting himself and his glasses clear of debris.

"Ah, that's a bit better. Roomier at any rate," Mr. Weasley joked as he gave what he hoped to be a charming grin to Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. "I'm Mr. Weasley, Harry might have told you about me?" His question was met with surprised looks and the forming of a glower from Uncle Vernon, "No? Well…ah, yes the mess. I can fix that up before I leave."

The room fell into an incredibly tense and awkward silence until Mr. Weasley coughed, "Right, Harry your trunk?"

"It's upstairs," He answered with a shrug as he moved to get it.

"Oh don't worry Harry-"Said Fred, or was it George? He honestly couldn't tell them apart yet.

"Yeah, we can pick it up," Finished George (or Fred). They waved cheerfully and disappeared from the living room. Harry could hear them taking the stairs and had to bit his tongue to not laugh as Dudley waddled out of his 'safe zone' and tried to hide behind his mother. Considering Dudley was wider than Petunia was tall, it didn't work well. It only made Mr. Weasley look at Dudley with concern.

"Having a good Holiday?" He asked them pleasantly, blinking in confusion as, for an answer, Vernon grunted, Petunia tried to hide and Dudley whimpered and clutched his buttocks more firmly than before, as though afraid it would fall off. Mr. Weasley glanced at Harry for a moment, confusion evident in his eyes. Harry simply shrugged. The Dursley's were the Dursley's and there really was no explaining away their behavior.

Sounds of thumps and scuffing feet heralded the arrival of the Weasley twins, carrying the cumbersome trunk between them, "Gosh Harry. What you got in here rocks?" One of the twins joked, tripping slightly on the edge of the carpet. A shower of brightly wrapped candies fell to the floor, "Oh shoot!" One of the twins, the one that tripped that Harry was thinking was Fred, dropped his end of the trunk and quickly started scooping them up. Once all the candies were placed back in his pocket, save for one Harry spotted underneath the table but didn't mention, Fred picked up his end of the trunk once more.

"So, guess we'll just be going then," Mr. Weasley said pleasantly once he saw his son was situated once more, "_Incendio!"_ The shout of the spell, a rush of color and flames were crackling merrily in the fireplace, despite the lack of wood therein. A pinch of floo powder later and the flames turned green and mildly transparent. "There we go, George you go in first. Set the trunk like so," Mr. Weasley said as he helped turn the trunk to a more manageable position.

"The Burrow!" Shouted George and in another rush of color, the boy was gone, leaving nothing but crackling green flames.

"Alright Fred, you next," Mr. Weasley said and after another shouted. "The Burrow", Fred was gone. "Ron next and then you can head on Harry. I'll be setting the room back to sorts an apparate back myself."

"Right, see ya soon Harry," Ron said with a smirk as he stepped into the flames. Two shouted words later and he was gone as well.

"Go on then Harry, won't be but a minute until you're at The Burrow," Mr. Weasley stated with a grin.

Harry felt a little leery of stepping on the fireplace, but only because he last use of the floo system had him popping out in Knockturn Alley. He knew now that he was lucky that Hagrid was around, or old hags would be selling the tips of his fingers; never mind what they'd do with the rest of him. "Right. See you," He muttered to his relatives before stepping into the flames. Hearing a chocking sound Harry turned to see Dudley with a large, almost 4 foot long tongue, but the words to activate the floo had already fled from his lips and the next thing he knew he was spinning inside a vortex of green flame and being spat out onto cold stone floors.

"Ow," he muttered, holding his hand up as Ron moved to help him up.

"You're getting better. You landed on your back rather than your face this time," Rom teased as he watched Harry dust himself off.

"Ha-ha, funny," Harry replied sourly as he wiped off his classes and placed them back on.

Still grinning, Ron turned to the kitchen, "Anyway, I don't think you've met the last bit of my family mate. This here's Charlie, works with dragons in Romania and that's Bill, he works at Gringrotts as a curse breaker."

Charlie Weasley was a stout man, with short hair and many burns upon his person. He smelled faintly of smoke, but looked perfectly healthy. Bill Weasley was taller, much more like Ron, with hair long enough to pull back into a ponytail and some sort of fang earring.

"Ron's told me about you before. Good to meet you," Harry said as he accepted the hands and shook them.

"Wicked hair Harry, don't know why I didn't think about doing something similar," Bill said with a chuckle as he ruffled Harry's hair good-naturedly. "Anyway, I would love to stay and chat, but mum has Charlie and me setting up the tables outside. Too many of us to eat inside comfortably. Chat with you later Harry," he said with a bit of a wave. He and Charlie then left, talking amicably about whatever it was they were working on. He heard something about nesting mother's, but blocked the rest out in favor of catching up with Ron and watching Mr. Weasley, and then Mrs. Weasley, chew the twins out for something called Ton-Tongue Taffy.

"So, how's your summer been?" Harry questioned as he followed Ron up several flights of steps and to his room. It was still absurdly orange and three extra beds were placed inside. It was cramped, but Harry found himself relaxing into the atmosphere. Hermione was there too, looking at the two of them expectantly.

"Pretty good. Hermione bought chewed my ear off when I told her I hadn't finished my homework though. Most of it's done now anyway," Ron answered as he took a seat.

"Ron! Homework is important. If you get it done soon enough, you can go back through and edit, or even add things," Hermione chastised before turning on Harry, "Anything from Snuffles? And what about your summer? You didn't send much mail and what did you DO to your hair?!"

Harry chuckled, "Summer was fine. Dudley was on a diet though, so less food than usual. Your packages came in handy. As for my hair, woke up like it like that, but I like it. Also, I was busy and Hedwig sent more letters to Snuffles. I couldn't tire her out by making her go all over the place," he answered easily enough. Sure he was lying a little, but they didn't need to know about his extracurricular activities, now did they?

After a little more integration, mostly from Hermione about his hair and then from them both about Snuffles, they were called downstairs by Mrs. Weasley to help set up the tables. Grabbing handfuls of forks, spoons and knives, the trio trudged outside and were given a wonderful showing by the elder Weasley's. Table fighting. He wondered how much fun it would be, and if it was possible, to stand atop the table while levitating it and ramming it into the other. At the very least, it would make it more challenging.

"Would you keep it down?! Some of us are trying to work here," Percy yelled through an open window, slamming it shut thereafter and ruining the fun.

"Why was the window open if he wanted quiet?" Charlie muttered darkly as he fixed the broken off table leg with a flick of his wand and, with another flick, had tablecloth set over the lot of them.

"Ah don't mind Percy, Charlie. You know he's just stressed from his job. All those cauldron bottom reports," Bill said with a snort as he helped finish setting up the table. It seemed like no time at all thereafter that the tables were groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking. Harry, who hadn't had a full meal since a few weeks into the summer, got a little bit of everything. Mot conversations were kept simple, mostly about Quidditch, how they were getting to the world cup and the like, though Percy tried to get people interested in some big project he was mentioning only vaguely. Harry was curious about it, but knew better than to be dragged into a discussion with Percy. The last time something of the sort happened, his chess pieces had been utterly decimated by Ron's.

Stuffed with food, Harry eyed the small moths fluttering low over the table, a small, lazy grin stretched across his features. If he had more energy, and wasn't so full, he'd probably wouldn't mind chasing them about, or going on to catch the fireflies that were now popping out of the woodwork. It was pretty at least, something to watch before they were all ushered upstairs, into showers and tucked into bed.

Harry allowed himself to relax, yawning slightly as he curled underneath the nest of blankets, his breath easing softly as he started to relax. The funniest thing though, was just before he fell asleep, he was sure he heard cat, but when he moved to check, all he saw as Fred and George's snoring forms and a flash of pink from outside the window. Too tired to think about it, he fell back asleep. He'd worry about strange pink mewing things in the morning.

* * *

**EverD:** Yeah, I know I promised a bit more action, but at least there was more dialog than the previous two chapters and this one is a bit longer as well. (most of my chapters average about 5 pages, this one is 7). Next chapter is the Quidditch World Cup, so yes…I SWEAR there will be more going on in that one. Just got to get through all the filler first, lol. No Zoroark interaction in this chapter, sorry 'bout that, but it's purely Harry here.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Pokémon. The only thing I do own is the story idea.

"Talk"

'Think'

"_Telepathy"_

**AN:** The much awaited Zoroark meets Harry chapter! Can ya dig it? I am sorry that it took so long though. I went through three versions of this and eventually settled on this one. Hope it meets your expectations and, hey look! More Pokémon!

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Zoroark was worried. It had been a full day and the pulses of energy had stopped. It was true that, by now, she didn't need them, but they helped sooth her frazzled nerves. The energy pulses let her know that the little Zorua was still alive, still whole and healthy and waiting for her. But they had stopped. The energy had stopped and while she would have loved to continue on for a few more hours, she couldn't. Her body felt heavy and weak and Zoroark had to admit to herself that she had done her body wrong…again. Once more, she had gone above and beyond her bodies demand and was paying for it.

"_My little Zorua, please be okay,"_ she sent, eyes closed as she begged for just a smidgeon of energy to curl around her, to wrap around her mind and give her hope. None came. Just like a five minutes previous, hell even an hour previous, no energy pulse came. She covered her face with her paws and breathed deeply, fighting to stay calm rather than go off the deep end.

_"Zoroark? Is that….you? Celebi did state that you lived and he's not one for lying but…"_ a voice, female, stated as a tall green colored antelope like Pokémon came from behind several tall, flowering bushes. It had horns, curled into dull points at either side of its head and strange shaped hooves, resembling boots more than anything else.

Zoroark turned, her body crouching low for a fight, before relaxing as the Pokémon before her came into full view, _"Virizion,"_ Zoroark greeted, her tone somewhat one of surprise, _"I did not realize I was in your part of the forest. I…I am sorry if I disturbed you any."_

Virizion shook her head, _"This forest hardly belongs to anyone, Zoroark. I…am merely curious though. What has you up and so frantic? I heard your cries from our sleeping area, where the others are."_

_ "I….there were these pulses and….they stopped. I'm in a little bit of distress is all. It felt like…it had to be a Zorua,"_ Zoroark informed as she wrapped her paws around her chest and glance balefully at the ground beneath her. _"I was so far away when they started and now they've stopped. I…I don't know what to do. My mind is in shambles."_

Virizion didn't answer right away, choosing instead to step closer and give Zoroark some comfort instead. "_It is alright Zoroark. We felt them as well, though I suppose not me, Cobalion or Terrakion figured what and who was causing them. It appears sleep has muddled our senses more than I thought,"_ she said lightly as she sighed a little, "_But a Pokémon…a new one…a little Zorua as you say, that is something to wake up and make haste for…though not one to destroy oneself over,"_ She added as she took in Zoroark's appearance, from the scruffy unwashed fur to the shaking limbs and haggard appearance. The scrutiny of it all caused a light blush to coat Zoroark's face.

_"Come, you may rest with me and the rest of the Sacred Swordsman. We are not one to turn a Pokémon away. Besides, humans have been crawling all over this place for several days. A simple tree hallow won't keep you as protected as it should,"_ Virizion decided as, with a slight nudge from her head, she lead Zoroark deeper into the forest. They walked towards the middle, until a large tree with exposed roots greeted them, surrounded by a shimmering aura. Cobalion was curled up closer to the tree, with Terrakion and Keldio were together, resting. All three were still asleep.

"_Plants always listened to me and this tree is…it has a special energy," _Virizion explained as Zoroark took rest under an exposed root, close to the dirt. The grass growing there was comfortable and simply laying on it relaxed her immensely._ "It keeps us safe, so long as we call it home. While you are here, rest easy. However, when you wake we four might be gone. If what you say is true, then it is time for us to quit our sleeping and make rounds. See what has changed in the world while we rested."_

"_Of course. You have no reason to wait for me. If you were to find-"_Zoroark started, before she was cut off with a kind look from the green Pokémon.

"_If we find a little Zorua, we will keep him safe until your arrival, should he need it. However, if you find him, send word if you can. It would be a joyous occasion to meet a new Pokémon after years of only humans and these…other strange creatures,"_ Virizion agreed as she moved to wake the others. _"For the moment though, Zoroark, get some rest. I'll leave food out for when you wake."_

Curled gently beneath her mane, Zoroark yawned and nodded, feeling strangely comforted by the older, green Pokémon. She idly wondered what would have happened if she hadn't run into Virizion, or if the pulses hadn't stopped and thus caused her to stop. Would she have run passed with nary a backward glance? At any rate, Virizion was right. She truly did need to take better care of herself and the aura surrounded the tree and it's inhabitants made her so comfortable, that sleep came easily. Her dreams were filled with home…and family and a little charcoal face beaming up at her from around an Oran berry.

* * *

Harry was up and dressed before Mrs. Weasley came to wake them up the next morning. For some reason, he had felt rather uncomfortable, his skin stretched too tight over his muscle and bones, making it hard to sleep. He felt sore all over, so, sleep wasn't his high priority at that moment, although that didn't seem to matter. Harry felt strangely well rested, despite the little sleep he had gotten. As for Ron and the twins, well, they were still out like a light and snoring…loudly. How he had slept through that was something to think about.

At any rate, while the rest of the boy's rested, Harry practiced, unable to stop himself from doing it for very long. It seemed to help the 'stretched-thin' feeling at any rate and it wasn't like he did much, just hands, arms, feet and legs. His tail formed too, and the sharp teeth. He felt fur growing along his face as well, after a handful of tries, but had to stop when he heard gentle footsteps on the stairs. Quickly reversing what transformations he had managed, and feeling mildly put out at having to quit, he blinked up at Mrs. Weasley as she opened the door.

"Oh! Harry, my goodness. Gave me a bit of a fright. Good to see you up and about though. Excited?" She asked as she moved about the room, gently waking up the rest of her brood.

"Yes Mrs. Weasley," Harry dutifully answered back as he watched Ron groan and flop out of his bed, landing in an undignified heap on the ground.

"Well that's nice. Why don't you head downstairs, all of you after the rest of you get some clothes on, and get some breakfast in you. You'll be leaving soon," She replied as she left to wake the girls. Harry moved quickly, pawing his shoes out from under the bed and leaving while the Ron, Fred and George still looked like zombies.

Harry met Mr. Weasley downstairs, the man dressed something like a strange golfer but it was pretty muggle still and he had a feeling it was as good as Mr. Weasley was gonna get. Sitting down at the table, Harry pulled a bowl towards him and ladled porridge into it, stirring in cream and apples for flavor. "So, how are we getting to the World Cup?" he asked as he swallowed down a bite.

"Well," Started Mr. Weasley as he made himself up a cup of tea, "We'll be taking a portkey, considering the lot of you are too young to apparate just yet and side along would be too much of a bother really."

"Oh…" Harry said as he wrinkled his nose a bit. He knew what Apparation was, and it was something he wanted to learn for himself, but he pretty much knew nothing about it other than you disappeared from one place and appeared in another.

George, bleary eyed and still very much half-asleep, stumbled into the kitchen then. He fell into a seat and yawned, "Where are the o-o-other's then? Percy and Charlie and B-Bill?" He asked as he blinked stupidly down at a plate of food, before starting in on it. He seemed to wake up a bit more after a few bites.

"Well, they've got their licenses, so they're apparating over later. Having a bit of a lie-in, them," Mrs. Weasley informed as she put a plate piled high with bacon onto the table and watched with fondness as it disappeared into the mouths of her children. She blinked then, before sighing and heading upstairs, "Where HAVE those girls gotten to…"

"Lucky," Fred grumbled from beside his twin as he nibbled on a bit of toast, folded in hold to hold sausages. "I wouldn't mind having a lie-in. It's too early…"

"So," said Harry, quickly changing the topic of sleeping a bit more, to something he was actually curious about, "What are portkey's?"

Mr. Weasley blinked at the question, "Blimy, kind of forgot-not that it matters, but portkeys can be just about anything," he answered as he adjusted his classes and smiled kindly at Harry, "Usually something muggles won't want to pick up. A punctured football, a discarded can of coke, things like that. They act as an almost instantaneous bit of transportation from one place to another."

Harry had a blank look on his face as he mulled over the information, before he nodded his head, understanding entering his eyes, "What happens if a muggle _does_ pick it up though? Would they be transported as well?"

"Not really," Mr. Weasley responded, generally happy to be answering such questions. His children seemed bored when he went on little conversations like these, always eager to leave and play outside, although he didn't begrudge them that. They were just children. "The portkey utilizes the magic of the witch or wizard to activate the spells placed upon it. There's magic in the object of course, so if no one is touching it, it'll disappear by itself to the arranged place, but the act of taking people with it…that needs magic of the user. Any muggles, unless with a witch or wizard grasping them, will simply be left behind when the portkey activates and leaves to the prearranged place."

"That's…rather cool. How does one-," Harry started, before being interrupted as Mrs. Weasley came stomping downstairs, the girls following close behind. None of them looked much better than the boys and sleepily started in on some toast.

"Now, now, none of that Arthur, I know how you get on those topics," Mrs. Weasley said fondly, "Now, you'd best be off now, or you'll be late for the portkey, you have a bit of a walk to do. And don't look at me like that girls. If you had woken up a bit earlier, you would have been able to eat in peace," She stated as she grabbed napkins and filled them with a couple of sandwiches made from the toast, bacon and sausage. She wrapped them up and handed one to each girl. "You can eat on the way there. You have everything Arthur?"

"Course Molly dear, bags are by the door," he answered as he leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek. "We'll see you in a few days."

As they made for the door, there was a bit of a ruckus with the Twins and Molly, something about Toffee's and them being hidden in the _seams_ of Fred and George's clothing, but that didn't last long and soon, backpacks in place, they made their way out of the Weasley home and down a sloping, twisting lane towards the village.

The morning was quiet, still dark as not even the sun had graced the sky with its presence. Most of them saved their breath for the trek ahead, but Harry was full of energy. He bounded ahead, circling back on occasion to talk with either Mr. Weasley or to draw Ron and Hermione into a conversation. As they walked, the sky slowly lightened from dewy black of night to a seamless pale blue. Mr. Weasley checked his watch now and then and, once they came upon Stoatshead Hill, all conversation ceased in favor of making the hilly climb.

Harry lost track of where they were for a moment, finding it more amusing to count the numerous rabbit holes that threatened to sprain unsuspecting ankles and even chase after a few rabbits. He could hear Mr. Weasley chuckling at his actions after the third time and, feeling a little embarrassed at his behavior, he jogged back and kept pace, humming under his breath as the crested the hill after a good ten minutes of climbing.

Hermione gasped, hands clutching at her side and looked rather weary, and perhaps a little ill. No doubt the sandwich was not settling well on her stomach after such a climb.

"You alright Hermione?" He asked, concerned for his friend who merely smiled back and waved a hand, obviously too out of breath to answer properly.

"Whew," Muttered Mr. Weasley as he mopped at his balding head with a bit of cloth, "We've actually made decent time. Got a good ten minutes. Why don't we all spread out and search for the blasted thing, hm? Shouldn't be anything big, but litter of some sort."

The spread out, but no sooner had they started when two people crested the hill, their bodies silhouetted against the dawning of the day, "Hello Arthur! Had a bit of a hike did you? Cedric and I lived pretty close by, so I suppose we were a bit lucky. Good lord, are these all yours?" Said the man rather quickly. Harry, who had been on his hands and knees looking through the roots of a dilapidated tree, stood quickly. He knew one of the tall figures, Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff Seeker and a pretty decent guy, so he had heard at any rate. That had to mean that the other man was his father, or uncle? Probably father, the likeness between the two was too great to be an uncle.

"Amos! It's good to see you as well," Mr. Weasley said with a grin as he shook hands with the eager man, "No, not all of them. Just the red heads. This here is Hermione Granger," He said as he motioned towards the non-red haired girl, "And this is Harry Potter. Both friends of my youngest son, Ronald."

"Blimy…Harry Potter, I can't-"Started Amos, before Mr. Weasley gently interrupted the other man.

"Sorry Amos, but we need to hurry and find that portkey. Perhaps…" The man stated as he looked about the hill.

"Oh, right of course. Come on Cedric, let's give it a look." Amos stated with a firm nod as they left the group of redheads to search the hill. The portkey was quickly found by one of the Diggory's, a rancid looking old boot and they all clustered around it.

"Alright, just put a finger on it, okay? Then when it leaves it'll take us all with it," Mr. Weasley stated as they stood around the boot. Harry was hit with the hilarious image of someone walking in on them, but managed to shove it down in favor of paying attention to the boot in front of him. "3 seconds. Hold on everyone!" Mr. Weasley said joyfully as, with a hooking sensation in his gut, Harry was lifted off his feet and sent spinning elsewhere.

Seconds later, Harry's feet hit the ground and he crumbled, the others falling onto him with groans, all save for Cedric, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory, all of whom seemed to somehow keep to their feet.

"Seven past five from Stoathead Hill," said a voice from behind them.

Muttering darkly under his breath, Harry pulled himself away from the dog pile of people and managed to get to his feet, dusting himself off as he watched Mr. Weasley greet strangely dressed men. One was dressed in a _kilt _and a _poncho_. Out of everything, Harry was wondering where these people got the idea that THAT was normal for muggles to wear. At least the other man was wearing something somewhat normal, even if no one would ever pair a tweed suit with thigh high goulashes.

After a bit of small talk, Mr. Weasley and the man in the poncho got down to business and they were sent on their way, towards the first field and a man named Mr. Robert. There was a bit of a problem with the money, which Harry helped sort out, a bit of oblivation from a another wizard due to Mr. Robert questioning a bit more than they liked and they were sent on their way once more, trekking through tents and pitiful fires to the campground Mr. Weasley had booked them earlier. The farther they moved away from Mr. Roberts, the more extravagant the tents became. Harry was completed dumfounded on why someone would want peacocks strutting about the front of their tent! Although he had to admit, they were lovely to look at.

"Can't help ourselves really," Mr. Weasley said as he spotted Harry, and even Hermione's, dumbfounded looks. "When we gather like this, we like to show off a bit. Makes a mess of things for the authorities, but I digress, even they can't help it either."

They didn't stop until they reached the edge of the woods, atop a field in which a single, crossed bit of wood had been hammered into the dirt, misspelling the Weasley name quite badly. Shrugging off his bag, Mr. Weasley pulled out what looked like a rumpled bit of cloth, poles and stakes.

"Now, ain't this a perfect spot? We're close to the Pitch and a decent bit away from noisy neighbors. Right perfect here," Mr. Weasley said as he stared around their campground, before glancing back down at the crumbled form of two tents. "We're not allowed to use magic here, strictly speaking and all, but that's alright. Muggles do this all the time. Where do you think we should start?"

Harry, who had never gone camping in his life, the onetime Dudley demanded to camp he'd been sent to stay with Mrs. Figg and all her annoying cats, stared blankly back at Mr. Weasley. "Wel…er…I suppose…" he started.

"Oh give it here Mr. Weasley," Hermione said as she started taking control of the situation, "My family and I have gone camping a few times. Shouldn't be too hard to put this up to sorts," she added as she separated the different sized poles and started to piece together the tents, taking care to make sure that each tent had the right number of poles.

Mr. Weasley tried to help, though he was more of a hindrance than anything and Fred and George managed helpful tidbits here and there until Mr. Weasley turned to his children and gave a brief grin. "Would you lot be a dear and search the forest for some dead wood? Small bits, sticks and the like. It just occurred to me that I brought large pieces and it'll be difficult to get a fire going with those."

"Can't we just use magic for that?" Ron asked, frowning a little at his father's request. "I mean, shrink some of the wood a bit or spell fire on there."

"I could, but I think it would be wonderful to get a fire started the old muggle way!" Mr. Weasley replied cheerfully, "Off you trot then, and don't wander too far, alright? The faster you get back with the wood, the faster I can get us some tea going."

They were waved off, Mr. Weasley ignoring Ron's whines the practice a man could only get after fathering five other children, and entered the forest just as many of the other campers were waking from their own bout of slumber.

"Can't believe he's doing this the muggle way," Ron grumbled as he stooped low and snagged a few branches off the forest floor. He snapped them, checking their insides for a green tinge and was pleased that the color was absent. Green wood wasn't good for burning, it made an exceptionally smoky fire.

"I think its okay. I mean, it takes a little longer, but the reward of getting it started would be better," Harry replied as he ignored the smaller sticks and went searching for something thicker than a toothpick.

"Yeah…I guess. Dad did seem pretty happy at the thought," Ron muttered as he kept his eyes peeled to the forest floor. "Hey, why don't we split up a bit? That way we can collect everything a bit faster," He said as he looked up at Harry, who had one measly stick in his palm.

"Yeah alright. Would be better at any rate, considering you're picking up all the wood here mate," Harry agreed with a bit of a grin, "I'll head a bit farther into the forest, see what I can pick up. Meet you in, well, 20?"

"Yeah that's fine."

"Good, see ya in a bit Ron," Harry stated as he turned away from his friend and went down a small, slight path. It was obviously made from animals, deer perhaps, but it made it easier to venture deeper into the forest. As per Mr. Weasley's request, Harry picked up wood here and there, grabbed the dead, thicker pieces to be used after kindling.

He ended up walking a bit deeper than he had meant to, lost in thought, practicing a bit of his animagus form to see a little better in the dim lighting and picking up bits of wood caused him to not pay attention to his surroundings. So it was understandable when Harry came face to snout with a dark gray beast with crimson-rimmed aquamarine eyes that he screamed.

* * *

EverD: Okay, so technically, Harry met Zoroark, but there was no interaction. I can understand that might upset a few people, but it was either write more or save it for the next chapter. Considering this took so long (and went through several versions) to complete, I just wanted to get it up. I hope you all enjoyed it anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Pokémon. The only thing I do own is the story idea.

"Talk"

'Think'

"_Telepathy"_

**AN: **This one took awhile to right for the same reason last chapter did. I had a dozen ways that it could have gone and couldn't decide on which. :/ Thank you so much for the reviews/follows/and Fav's! At any rate, the long awaited Zoroark meets Harry chapter! I really hope you guys like it. I feel like I hyped it up far too much. .

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Chapter 5

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Harry couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, couldn't even blink. His heart hammered a million miles an hour in his throat as he took in the strange beast before him. It was tall, though perhaps somewhat shorter than himself and vaguely bipedal. Its claws were coated crimson, either from blood or natural design, and its eyes were lined in a similar colored fur, hinting perhaps more at natural design for the claws, rather than some unfortunate animal's demise. Sharp teeth showed when it opened its maw, and it was close, very close to Harry. He was pretty sure that if he wanted to, and he didn't, he could reach out and brush his fingers against the creature's fur…probably right before it ripped his face off.

The sticks in Harry's hand clattered together as the creature stepped even closer, a soft guttural growl echoing from deep within its thin chest as it sniffed him, its nose mere inches from his own. Harry couldn't help but squeak, though later he would deny that such a girlish sound ever escaped from his lips, and wondered where Ron was. Another growl sent the sticks in his hand to clatter to the ground as instinct flared inside of him. He ran, or tried to at any rate, his feet feeling heavy and decidedly not his as he tripped over an exposed root and went down. His wrist flared with pain, but he scrambled back up to his feet, his body twisting to look behind him, where he was sure the beast was and…it wasn't. It wasn't there.

He made to run again, his thoughts on getting back to the Weasley's, telling them about the beast inside the woods, before a heavy weight slammed against him and he fell once more against the forest floor, his breath escaping his lungs in a sudden "Oof!"

The beast loomed over him as he wiggled onto his back, his heart once more pumping painfully in his chest. Its bright blue eyes looked at him, seemingly weighing him and finding something amiss. It leaned closer, muzzle touching his throat and Harry whimpered, his mind flashing to those sharp teeth he had seen mere moments before. This was it. He was going to die, alone in the forest, mauled by some strange creature that even his books hadn't told him about and without even getting to see his first authentic Quidditich match and…it sniffed him. The beast had pressed its muzzle to his throat and sniffed him.

'Do I smell weird?' Harry couldn't help but think as he stayed very still. Maybe it was like a T-Rex and could only sight him and it was confused? He didn't know, but he prayed for some sort of distraction so he could wiggle free and run off.

"_Zorua?" _Oh joy, he was going mad to. He was hearing voices! Saying random words that didn't make a lick of sense!

"_Zorua…you are…I have found you."_ The voice said again, once more the words going directly into his head rather than being spoken. Maybe when he had fallen he had hit his head…and was dead…or dying…beating eaten or something.

"_Calm yourself little one. I will not harm you. You are not dead, dying or being mauled. I would never harm you,"_ the voice said as the beast moved off of him, sitting on its haunches as it continued to study him.

"That's….you…that's you speaking? In my head? How?" Harry asked, his heart calming quickly despite the fact that he really wanted to run. There was just something about the creature that…that he knew he could trust, at least a little bit.

The beast smiled, though the look was more scary than anything else, "_Telepathy, my little Zorua. Now I must ask you a question. How did you get here? You were so far away before…"_

"I don't know what you mean, not really," Harry said as he sat up, rubbing his palms together as he eyed the dirt stains on his pants and the scraps on his hands. "I…uh…came here with some friends and their family. What…what are you, exactly?"

The beast tilted its head, blinking slightly as it took in his words, "_I am Zoroark, not beast or creature. I am a Pokémon, though many of our kind are long gone now,"_ it said as it sighed, its shoulder slumping a little. It seemed to perk up again though, glancing at him with eyes filled with some sort emotion, "_And you are Zorua. You sent for me, woke me from slumber. Woke us from slumber. Your energy was far reaching. It is…good to have finally found you."_

Harry nodded his head slowly, pulling himself up to his feet and dusting himself off as he thought about the…Pokémon's words. He had no idea what it was talking about, but felt it best to play along…you know, before it decided he made a better snack than a conversation partner.

"_You do not believe me,"_ the Zoroark said, its tone soft and regretful, "_I thought something like this could happen, considering your form is…different. You must have stayed transformed for so long, you've forgotten…but no matter. What I speak is the truth, little Zorua. You are a Pokémon, like myself. Please…come with me. I can keep you safe and happy. You could meet others of our kind."_

"I can't," Harry replied lightly as he moved to pick up the sticks, his movements slow, but sure. He wanted something in his hands to fight with, just in case, and considering he was underage, a stick was better than a wand. He didn't want to be expelled just yet, or ever really. "I…look, it was nice talking to you, really it was, but I gotta get back to the others. I gotta go home with them. You're…you're a nice Zoroark, or whatever, and I…I mean, I have to go now."

"_You can't! You can't leave me! I…I searched for so long. Why won't you see the truth, little Zorua!"_

_ "_I'm not that….whatever! I'm not a Zorua! I'm a human...a….a wizard! I…I'm not what you think I am," Harry said sharply in reply as he back stepped away from the frazzled Pokémon, his hands clenching the sticks almost painfully in his grasp. As the Zoroark stepped forward, Harry once more stepped back, his face set in a determined glare that seemed to wilt the animal before him into a depressed air.

"_But you are…"_ it said gently, she really. Now that Harry bothered to notice, the tone of voice was distinctly female and he felt a small pang of shame for calling it an it for so long. "_If only I could make you see reason. Even your fur shows that you are what I say. The red tips are distinctive of a Zorua and it does not smell fake. You are a Zorua, little one. Please, try and remember."_

Unconsciously, Harry ran a finger through his hair, remembering the crimson tips that had sprouted a few weeks into his animagus practice. The color had stayed despite his best efforts and he even liked it, or had liked it. Now it had gotten him into trouble with an animal that seemed bound in determined to make Harry believe what it said about him being a…Zorua or whatever. "That's from something else," he replied evenly, his breathing harsh in his ears.

The Zoroark growled darkly, shaking her head at the child before her. She had wondered about the human form it currently took, had thought several reasons behind it, but now…now she was concerned. Perhaps the child had been pretending for so long, he no longer knew what he was anymore. As for the human tongue it spoke, any intelligent Pokémon could manage the words with enough practice. She remembered a meowth from her younger years who spoke the language fluently enough.

She once more stepped forward, her tone more pleading than before, "_Little one,"_ she said gently, but as she stepped forward, the child stepped back. The sight of it caused an ache in her chest, a horrible feeling when she imagined such a meeting to be filled with such joy.

"I…I'm sorry for…waking you up, or whatever, but I gotta go," Harry once more replied, his tone edging toward pleading as he stepped back again.

"_Please, Little one. If you stay I can show you the truth,"_ Zoroark stated, trying again to gain the little one's trust.

"-Ry!"

A shout distracted them, causing Harry's head to twist to the north, a look of relief on his face.

"Harry! Where'd you get to?" Ron yelled and Harry looked back at the Zoroark, his shoulders sagging a bit as he noted that it was distracted by the voice and rather…torn on action. It looked like it wanted to bolt, but that it also wanted to stay and speak with him some more.

"Harry?!"

Harry glanced at the Pokémon, bit his lip, before shaking his head quickly, "I'm sorry!" he said gently as he hefted the sticks a bit and took off, leaving the Pokémon behind as he raced over to where Ron's voice was. The Pokémon didn't follow, but the aching cry that he heard made his heart constrict painfully. He felt sorry for it, really, but he was pretty sure he wasn't what it thought he was anyway.

"Here Ron! Sorry, I…uh, fell down an embankment, had a bit of trouble getting back up it," Harry lied as he spotted his red-headed friend. Despite his earlier notion to run back and tell them about the beast, something now told him to stay silent about it. Having lived so long due to trusting his instincts, Harry obeyed that little something in him. As for Ron, the boy simply looked relieved at his appearance.

"I can see that mate, bad luck there. At least nothing ripped and you got a decent amount of kindling too, so let's head back. Forest got a bit creepy and Dad's probably aching for that fire about now," Ron said as he hefted his own load of sticks. There were more than what Harry carried, but that didn't matter. Between the two of them, it was more than enough…hopefully. "Don't know about you, but I could go for a cuppa myself. Bit of a long morning, yeah?"

Harry hmed in reply, his mind on the beast he had left behind. It had seemed so sad.

"Mate?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, cup of tea sounds nice, really. Could wake me up a bit," he replied evenly, a small grin on his face as they left the forest behind them and headed back to camp.

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By the time the Quidditch match started, everyone's money bags were considerably lighter than before and their pockets bursting with trinkets from small stands littered about the campground. They had to go through a big of the forest to get to the stands, which made Harry a little twitchy, wondering if the Zoroark would pop out again, but it didn't and he relaxed a little, before making the arduous climb up the steps to the top seats.

"Seats about a hundred thousand," Mr. Weasley said excitedly as he spotted the awed looks on his children's faces, as well as Harry's and Hermione's. "At any rate, just keep moving up, we'll be at our seats soon."

They climbed up some more, the velvet carpet squishy and soft beneath their feet as they reached the box seats and filed down them. Harry took a seat between Hermione and Ron, Charlie next and so on and so forth, before gazing about the stadium, a wide grin splitting his face as he made his omnioculars record a man several yards below them pick his nose again and again. It was childish, but immensely hilarious, though his actions caused Hermione to roll her eyes at him a bit.

A quick glance about the area showed a diminutive House Elf, who introduced herself as Winky only after Harry called her Dobby by accident, cowering in a seat close to the edge. She was apparently terrified of heights to an insane degree, but ordered by her Master to remain up in the box, to save his seat for him.

"So that's a house-elf," Ron commented lightly as he shook his head a bit at the things strange mutterings, "Weird things. Was Dobby like that?"

"Weirder," Harry replied with a wry grin as he fiddled with the replay knob on the side of his omnioculars, chuckling as he watched the man from before, who had picked his nose; smear the evidence on the seat next to him. Still the thought of the house-elf behind him, and Dobby from before, made him a bit wary. On principal, he found it difficult to take house elves at face value and shifted his robes closer around himself, his wand laying a bit on his lap as a just in case precaution.

Hermione, meanwhile, was riffling through a program, velvet covered much like the carpets and decorated with gold tassels, "They're going to show the mascots before the match. That sounds interesting; I wonder what the teams brought with them!" she exclaimed eagerly as she skimmed through the rest.

"Oh, that's always worth watching," Charlie said with a grin, "The National Teams bring creatures from their native lands, you know, and the Bulgarians have some…interesting creatures," he added, causing Bill to snort a little and grin at his brother.

"I agree, very interesting creatures," He agreed as he sat back in his seat.

The box they were sitting in filled gradually around them over the course of a half hour, causing Mr. Weasley to shake hands with those he knew and for Percy to continuously jump out of his seat to and do the same, making him look a bit like a fool. It was only after bowing a bit too low, and shattering his glasses against the floor, did he take his seat and keep it, too embarrassed to continue to meet and greet with those in such high political power after such a display of, well, idiocy.

The only downside had been the Malfoys sitting behind them. They had arrived, some harsh words were said and a fight only narrowly avoided thanks to Mr. Fudge and Bagman popping up to get things underway. Everyone took their seats and, with a grin, Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and uttered, "Sonorus!" When he spoke, his voice was magnified by quite a lot, becoming his own human microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World up!"

The first mascot's to show were Charlie and Bill's favorite, supposedly, Veela. At first, Harry was quite confused at first as a multitude of woman, beautiful and ethereal woman came out onto the field and started to dance. As they did so, people around him went a bit mad, climbing on the edge of their seats or over one another.

"Ron!" Hermione grouched as she grabbed the back of his robes just before the boy decided that jumping from the box like one would off a springboard was a good idea. An awkward moment passed for Harry, as he wondered why the Veela hadn't had any effect on him, while the men around him, even Malfoy, acted as though their brains stopped working correctly. Still, no one had seemed to have noticed and he had acted a bit spacey enough he assumed, amused at everyone else's reactions, that no one would question his reactions, or lack thereof.

The music stopped though and the veela quit their dancing to line up near the edge of the field. The Irish were next, and while a little less impressive than the veela, leprechauns were interesting to watch as well. Although one leprechaun seemed to enjoy going in circles, rather than followed the set design as the whole lot of them made shapes in the sky with their glittering lanterns, showering gold upon the people beneath them.

Ron gleefully shunted a pile of gold onto Harry, "There, for the omnioculars. Now you have to get me a present," He stated with a grin. Harry eyed the gold dubiously, but accepted it all the same. He didn't want to start a tiff with Ron now, though anyone could see that the gold was fake…or could they? A glance behind him showed that even Malfoy had pocketed the gold. It did look real, right down to the mint, but there was just something…off about it, like it was an illusion. Shaking his head, Harry decided he'd ask later and pocketed the gold before Ron caught him studying it overly much.

The mascots done with their little pre-game show, the board was wiped clean and replaced with Bulgaria: 0 Ireland: 0 and bagman shouted out the names of each team member. A quick promise for a clean game and the balls were released, the players moving quickly as the game commenced.

The game itself was fast-paced and brutal, in comparison to the games Harry himself played back at school. Even the snitch was faster, zooming around the pitch with reckless abandon, hovering over players and audience members alike. He winced as Lynch slammed into the field with a dull thud, though he got up a few minutes later, dripping blood but determined to play. 'My kind of player,' Harry thought with a grin, remembering his own match with the dementors, and an earlier one with a cursed broom curtsey of the first of many Dark Arts Professor's out to kill him.

An interesting moment happened with the veela a part of the way through the game and Harry couldn't help but laugh as all the beautiful women turned into bird like creatures, throwing fire from the palms of their hands. Mr. Weasley nodded his head and said, "That children, is why you never go for looks alone!" and laughing they all returned to the game, though the veela were kicked off the field for their actions, the leprechauns close behind due to antagonizing the lot of them.

The game ended with a mind blowing finish, both seekers injured, Krum surly and pouting through thick dribbles of blood, with Bulgaria at one hundred and sixty points and Ireland at one hundred and seventy, though Krum _had_ gotten the snitch. "Wow, I guess the twins were right," He mused to Ron, who nodded absently; too busy cheering the winning team on, even though his favorite player had lost.

After Ireland had left the box, winning cup in hand to do another lap of honor, Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, "Quietus," before clearing his throat and massaging his throat. "They'll be talking about that for years," He said hoarsely, "A rather unexpected twist, now then how much do I owe you?" he asked as Fred and George scrambled over the seats and looked expectantly at Bagman, hands outstretched.

They left the stadium last, following a hoard of other people as Mr. Weasley chastised his son's gently about gambling and warned them to not let their mother know. Harry watched, grinning happily, as leprechauns shot overhead, filling the sky with small motes of glittering light. When they reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping and, given the general noise around them, Mr. Weasley allowed everyone to have a cup of cocoa before bed, though before long everyone was arguing about who did best in the match. It was only one Ginny fell asleep, knocking over her hot chocolate did Mr. Weasley demand that every head to bed. They could speak more about the match in the morning.

Going over to where Ron and he had claimed a bunk bed, Harry clambered up onto the top bunk and lay staring at the ceiling of the tent, watching the occasional glowing lantern of the leprechauns go past. He kept picturing the game in his head, how he'd have played, if he would have been up to snuff, which was a big resounding no. He was confident in his abilities for school, but the Quidditch players on the field before…they were in another league together.

Yawning, he turned on his side, his body relaxing to the mattress as he fell asleep…and promptly awoke to screams.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Pokémon. The only thing I do own is the story idea.

"Talk"

'Think'

"_Telepathy"_

**AN:** Thank you Skylaar Wolf and Nulled Lucied for getting me off my butt to finish this chapter and get it posted. It would have been up earlier, but I got nervous and convinced myself no one actually reads this anyway. Then I decided that I want it written because I need the ideas out of my head. Anyway, WILD UPDATE! WOO! *hides from angry readers*

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Chapter 6

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Harry was disoriented at first, his fingers scrabbling against canvas as he flinched, rolled off the edge of the bunk, wincing as he fell the short few feet to the floor. Half mad with panic and eyes mussed from sleep, he gazed at the chaos that currently resided in the tent. Ron was up, one eye open wider than the other as Charlie shook him awake. Mr. Weasley as well as several other adults, namely Charlie and Bill, were grabbing jackets and shoving pants over their pajamas.

"Come on you two, up! Up! Grab a jacket and get outside-this is urgent!" Mr. Weasley stated as he pulled Ron up and helped the still half-asleep boy into a jacket and some shoes. Harry quickly did as he was told and, following the others, left the tent quickly. Outside, the others squinted into the semi-darkness, the way barely illuminated by the light of several dying fires and flickering burnt remains of tents.

Harry could see clearly though, his eyes taking in what was before him in shock and horror. Fellow witches and wizards were running into the wood, fleeing a group of men dressed in black with pale white face masks. The crowd of men held their wands aloft, emitting bangs and firecracker noises as bright bolts of colored light hit tents and people, blasting them away and catching the canvas tents aflame. A smaller group near the middle held their wands pointed up into the air, laughing uproariously as four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes.

The masked figures on the ground were playing puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by magic that rose from the wands. It made Harry ill, even more so than before, when he saw two of the figures were very small, just children. As he continued to watch, the others immobile, stunned at what was before them just as he was, more joined the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies. The screaming grew louder, impossibly loud, so much so that Harry could feel his head thrumming with it.

As the group passed over a burning tent, the figures suspended in the air were suddenly illuminated and Harry gasped as he recognized one of them: Mr. Roberts, the campsite manager. The other three were probably his wife and children. He felt green as one of the members below the twitching, hovering people flipped Mrs. Roberts upside down with his wand; her nightdress falling down to reveal her underwear as the woman cried and struggled to cover herself up. The swelling crowd below hooted and jeered with glee.

"That's…," Ron started, swallowing thickly as his own pale face turned a bit green, "That's sick. He flinched some when the smallest muggle child began to spin like a top, sixty feet above the ground, his head flopping limply from side to side. "That's really, really sick."

Hermione and Ginny appeared then pulling on jackets, with Percy behind them and Harry turned away from the scene, watching as Ginny grew pale and Hermione gasped, placing a hand on her mouth. Her eyes were taking in everything, all the horror and he knew that, despite everything, a little more of their innocence was lost to the mad men before them.

"We're going to help the Ministry," Mr. Weasley said, his voice loud over the screaming and hooting of the people around them. He looked pale, but determined all the same. "You lot, get into the woods and stick together. I'll come fetch you when we've sorted this out," He added as he motioned for them to follow the fleeing people into the woods. "Please…stay safe," He added gently.

Harry nodded, shivering a bit as Bill, Charlie and Percy sprinted away towards the oncoming marchers; Mr. Weasley followed after them, light billowing from his wand as he took a few of masked men on. Ministry wizards were dashing everywhere now, popping up with loud cracks of Apparition and heading towards the source of all the trouble. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was looming ever closer.

"Let's get out of here," said Fred, grabbing Ginny's hand and starting to pull her toward the wood. Harry, Ron, Hermione and George followed, but paused as they reached the trees. The crowd beneath the muggle family was larger than ever; they could see Ministry wizards trying to get through it to the hooded wizards in the center, but Harry could tell they were afraid to use any spell that would make the muggle family fall.

There was a tug against the back of his jacket and Harry turned, blinking at Hermione who stared at him with tears in her eyes. "We shouldn't linger," she stated softly, her eyes flicking to him, then back at the group that swelled and grew louder. Nodding in agreement, Harry followed. The colored lanterns that had previously lit the path to the stadium had been extinguished, making traveling for most of them difficult. Dark figures blundered through the woods; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices echoed around them. Harry could feel himself being pushed forward and out by people whose faces he could not see.

Someone from the back of the crowd pushed forward, his loud shouts of, "Get the hell out of my way!" echoed through the forest path as a bright streak of light flashed through the crowd. People went spilling everywhere, the slight bit of calm given to them by the comfort of the trees erased by one man's growing hysteria. Another spell rent the air, cracking the bark of a tree close to Harry causing people once more to start running and screaming. A loud yelp to his left heralded Ron falling over.

"Ron!" Harry started, wincing as he pushed through the crowd. More screaming, another spell and the crowd surged forward. Harry found himself pushed against it, frightened, remembering Mr. Weasley's words to stick together and how it hadn't worked out at all. He felt himself tripping as he pushed through the crowd, someone, he wasn't sure who, pushed him and he was weightless for a moment, before slamming against the ground and skittering down an embankment, his body rolling and hitting trees, rocks and bushes along the way.

Then suddenly, he wasn't falling anymore, though he was definitely on an incline. His body hurt, his head most of all, but at least he wasn't hitting anymore trees. Shifting, he gingerly opened his eyes, surprised his glasses were still on and not broken…to see shimmering blue eyes staring back at him. He froze, but couldn't help but notice that three feet in front of him, the steep embankment jutted out to a cliff and fell into darkness. "You…saved me?" he whispered softly, as the Zoroark shifted and helped him to a more stable position.

"_My goal has been, and always will be, to protect you, my little Zorua,"_ the beast replied softly as she looked over him. He had a few cuts and scrapes and bruises, but he was whole and in moderately good health.

"I'm not…I'm not a Zorua, you know. I'm just Harry. A Wizard," He replied as he twisted to look towards the embankment. It was steep, which he could tell just from having fallen down it, and littered with trees and bushes that his back and shoulders had gotten intimately informed of. It was also much too steep to climb. As it was, Zoroark was keeping him stable, while resting against a thick oak tree. On his own hitting the tree probably would have stopped him, or made him roll around and over the edge of the cliff. "That's…one steep hill," He muttered lightly.

The Zoroark behind him huffed gently, clicking her teeth together, before glancing down at the child resting in her arms. She did not like that the other humans had caused him to get separated from his pack of other humans, but she welcomed the time they had together regardless. Perhaps, she could get him to see reason, though after watching him all day she had little hope of him agreeing to run away to safer places with her.

_You feel…different from the others. Regardless of what you say, you feel…like me and another type of energy. I do not think that you are only a mere…Wizard,"_ Zoroark stated softly as she watched him take in what was around them. She could easily climb upwards to the path again, with the little one, but she wanted to talk first.

She watched as the little one turned towards her, his eyes narrowing a little in thought, "I feel different? How different?"

Zoroark tilted her head, blinking slightly, "_Everything has energy in it, little one; from the smallest blade of grass, to the animals and humans. Each energy is similar to the other, as both exist in balance of each part. The…balance of energies is a bit different from what I'm used to…there being very little Pokémon and all, but it is there,"_ She explained as she ran her claws through Harry's fur, well, hair. Zoroark smiled as Harry's eyes closed faintly, his body relaxing due to her actions.

"_That being said. You have energy similar to the other wizards around you. Regular humans, I have noticed, have energy signals that…are the same of what I am used to. It varies between individuals of course, but it is small, settled deeply inside of themselves, and they use it for no more than their usual every day use. Working, running that sort of thing. The…wizards, on the other hand, have a greater amount, again some more than others, and it hovers over the cusp of their own form, like an aura. I believe the manipulations of that energy is what allows them to send those strange colored lights." _Pausing a moment here, Zoroark scratched idly at her chin as she tried to put her thoughts into words. It was more difficult than she thought possible.

"Really? No one explained magic like that to me. So what do I feel like?" Harry asked, blushing a little as Zoroark sent him an admonishing look.

"_I was getting to that,"_ She muttered lightly, sighing a bit before taking a deep breath and plowing on with her explanation, "_You feel like me, or more accurately, you feel like a Pokémon…and like a wizard. Your energy hovers about you like a cloud, much like any wizards I would assume, pulsing gently with your emotions, but it is much more fluid and open than any wizard I've watched. It shifts subtly with your emotions and acts upon them. It also is a bit more…dense, for the lack of a better word."_

Harry frowned and fell silent for a moment, his eyes straying up to the path he had been knocked off of. By now, the crowd had passed and the forest had once more fallen silent. He was somewhat pained that he couldn't hear any of his friends, but had to admit that the crowd had been powerful. Much like he had been knocked off, they must have been swept into the tide of it.

"I don't understand. I mean, I guess I do…a little bit. My energy, like any other wizard, hovers outside of my body, above my skin?" He questioned, looking pleased as Zoroark nodded her head in affirmation. "But it's more open and shifts like...a Pokémon's? I don't know what that means."

Zoroark huffed faintly, her nose wrinkling. She relaxed and tried to exude calm when she noticed Harry's expression had become shamed at his lack of understanding. "_Little one, I am not angry at you. This world is different than the one I am used to. You must understand, when I was young everyone, even humans, knew about the energy. Some marvelous humans could even wield theirs with ease. I've never had to so thoroughly explain it. Please, give me a moment to think."_

Harry nodded, his eyes again leaving her form to glance about the woods. Time passed, a good few minutes really, before a soft sigh made him look back at the agitated Pokémon.

"_I cannot think up a way to make the explanation any easier. However, I can…add to it. Pokémon energy is used much like you wizards use yours. For daily things and for defending and attacking. A Pokémon's energy, unlike wizards, has a type and under that type, each Pokémon can learn a limited number of moves. For example, a Pokémon with wings is a flying type and is able to learn moves like Air Cutter, which is a manifestation of that Pokémon's energy and type. That particular attack unleashes razor-like blasts of winds at their opponent. Of course, flying types can also, well, fly. Both as an action and as an offensive maneuver. Types, both through evolution and birth, can be paired. Fire types, upon evolving, can become Flying type, making that Pokémon a duel type of Fire and Flying."_

"So," Harry started as he slowly understood the current topic, "My energy has a 'Type' attached to it, so it feels like a Pokémon's energy? And what's this about evolving? Doesn't that take a long time? I mean, I only kind of remember some of my muggle classes, but birds evolved from dinosaurs or something. That took millions of years!"

It was now Zoroark's turn to look confused, tilting her head to the side in an action eerily similar to a dog's. "_No, it takes awhile sometimes, but never millions of years. No Pokémon, aside from the Divine Arceus and the Legendaries, which I am now a part of, I suppose, can live that long. Evolution for Pokémon takes certain milestones though. They must grow stronger or older or find a certain special stone and area's in order to evolve. I, myself, am an evolved form of a Pokémon. I used to be a little Zorua too, but I grew up, grew stronger and evolved into the form I have now. However, what you say is also correct. Evolution can take millions of years. I believe that to be correct too. If it helps, think of evolving and evolution as two different things."_

"…I think I'm getting a headache. I suppose this circles back to me being a Zorua," Harry said with a sigh as he rested his head on one of his hands. "Say that I believe you, because I truly am starting to. I mean, your arguments seem pretty solid and the energy thing…although I suppose you could be blowing smoke, but what do Zorua's even look like? I mean, I obviously don't look like one at the moment."

Zoroark perked up at this, her whole demeanor going from firm and serious to almost bubbly, _"Zorua's are small, about two and a half feet tall. They're gray with a black tuff around their neck and various red marks on their eyes and paws, much like my own."_

Harry's expression changed from mildly curious, to shock, "I…I mean that is…I suppose…" pausing, he gathered his wits before speaking once more, "What I mean to say is, I still don't think I'm your Zorua, but you did describe my animagus form. I can't really turn into it yet, but I figured it out awhile back…but that doesn't really make me one! I mean, I just…take the shape of one."

He fell silent, blinking as a gruff sort of laugh escaped Zoroark, "_Little one that is what Zoroark and Zorua do! They are illusionists and Dark Type Pokémon, able to take the form of others,"_ She said and, with a slight shimmer around her form, Harry found himself face to face with…himself?! "_It is a talent we have that allows us to keep ourselves hidden. We can take the shape of other beings, places and weave illusions around are dens and meadows."_ She added as, with another similar shimmer, Harry was on a meadow, tall grass spread around him from horizon to horizon. The sun was shining too, feeling warm against his skin. The faint breeze rustling the grass snagged in his hair, tossing it up in gentle fluff's. Beasts he had never seen before flew on wings along the azure sky, calling out to each other, before spinning on updrafts and lazily drifting away.

"You're…You're doing this?! But it's so real!" Harry exclaimed his eyes wide as he took in the meadow.

"_Our powers over illusions encompass all the senses completely."_ There was a hint of smugness in Zoroark's tone now and she looked rather proud of herself. To Harry's disappointment, the illusion ended and he was once more back on the embankment, bruised and scraped and somewhat cold. Another soft shimmer of light and Zoroark was once more herself.

"O-okay, I believe you a little more now. Not completely! I mean, an animagus is just taking the form of an animal and…I guess the book did say you truly became that animal really, or Pokémon in this case. I…I still can't go with you to wherever it is you need to take me! I have friends and…family, I guess," Harry stated, his tone somewhat awed by what he had been shown. "I can't-"

Zoroark placed a paw on his shoulder, "_I know little one. I watched you most of the day. You have pack here. Not by birth and blood, but by choice and I won't take you from them. It would be cruel,"_ She said gently, smiling toothily at his relieved, though troubled, smile, "_However, I do believe you still need to be trained. I will follow you, but remain hidden. Other Pokémon will be looking for you as well, to welcome you. A new Pokémon hasn't been seen in millennia's!"_

Zoroark missed the wince on Harry's face, too caught up with the fact that she had gotten him to finally accept her words, though perhaps more on a trial basis. It was still more than she had assumed so early on in their was a bit busy, missing her slight explanations about the various Pokémon still in existence and instead was caught up with more…fame, for the lack of a better word. First he had to survive the Killing Curse and become the Boy-Who-Lived and now, to an ancient race of rare animals, he was the first 'born' since…well, awhile. Zoroark still hadn't explained that completely yet.

Still…it was nice to see Zoroark in a better mood. Her eyes practically sparkled as she went on and on about training, getting to know one another and the various pokemon he'd eventually meet. "_I think you'll enjoy Celebi. Despite his age, he's a bit like a pup himself! Always playing games,"_ she said with a smile.

Laughing, Harry held up a hand to quiet her, "As fun as all that sounds, training's gonna have to wait. I mean, I can't even turn into a Zorua yet. I don't get really far in my transformation, passed a little fur and all."

"_Transformation? Oh Little one…Harry, I mean. I suppose I should call you by your name and all now, going into a Zorua form should be easy for you. I mean, certainly it's usually the tail that gives away a novice Zorua, but-"_ Zoroack said as he once more carded her claws through Harry's hair.

"What are you getting at? I mean, according to the books I've been making excellent time in changing. Shouldn't take me more than…maybe a month!" Harry replied, looking somewhat petulant at Zoroark's words.

"_Silly child. Every Zorua has a failsaf, for when they get stuck in form or, if they are young, a bit of the real them that leaks through. Like I said, it's usually the tails that give them away, but…,"_ Zoroark chuckled, her fingers curling on the red tuff of Harry's hair, "_I can tell that, being you, nothing will be as it should. A little tug should do it!" _She gripped his hair and yanked, not enough to hurt, but enough to send a shockwave down Harry's form.

He shrank, energy building around him before dispersing in arcs of darkly colored rainbow light. When the light vanished, a little Zorua stood quite shocked before her. She blinked as the small form wavered, before collapsing with a heart wrenching little yip.

"_That…was not supposed to happen."_

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__EverD: And cliffhanger! I'm sorry it took so long to upload. I honestly had hoped to get this up sooner than...well, practically a month. I promise next chapter will have something really interesting though, so please wait patiently!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Pokémon. The only thing I do own is the story idea.

"Talk"

'Think'

"_Telepathy"_

AN: So, the Unown make an appearance, but I have a question for you lot. In the games it's Unown, and in some of the movies and anime, it's Unknown. Which one do you prefer? Also, a tiny bit of clarification, as a Zorua, Harry cannot speak the human language, thus he uses telepathy. So, expect a lot of italics for the moment!

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Chapter 7

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It was cold and dark, the world around him an empty void of twisting, darkened colors. They pulsed gently around him, the sound of it thrumming in his ears, causing him to curl into himself, a soft whimper escaping his throat. His body felt heavy, his eyelids even more so, but he forced his eyes to open regardless of the feeling. "_Where…am I?"_

The softly beating lights quickened their pulse, growing brighter, as through responding to his voice. "_Anyone there? H-hello? Zoroark?" _Harry asked as he sniffled, forcefully uncurling himself even though it hurt to move. The air felt thick and heavy, like molasses, the pressure of it pressing down on his body. "_I'm…I'm scared. Zoroark? Anybody?!"_ He frantically looked around, forcing small, crimson colored paws to step forward, before promptly collapsing, his legs feeling like jelly. The weight of the air was too heavy to move. It hurt to breathe now.

"_S-someone…anyone…"_ He whimpered out, eyes closing as he shook, small tears trailing down darkly furred cheeks.

_"Little one…be not afraid of the void. Nothing here can harm you,"_ A voice spoke out of the twisting nether as the pulsing light quickened once more. A being stepped out of it, easily ten feet tall and colored mostly white. A long crest extended from the top of its head down to the middle of its back and gold metal encircled its waist, branching off to form vague crescent-like shapes at either side of the being.

The limbs ended in faint points, the tips to ankle coated once more in gold metal similar to that which encircled its waist. "_If you focus on your breathing, you should find moving possible. The ether takes time to get used to, but by no means does it wish you harm, child,"_ the being spoke as it gently lowered its muzzle downward, giving Harry a gentle look.

Nodding slowly, Harry did as the being asked, focusing on his breathing and on himself and found, to his astonishment, the pressure easing up. It was still heavier than the air he was used to, but not nearly as oppressive. Shakily, he pulled himself to his feet. "_W-who are you? And where am I exactly? How did I get here?"_

The being tilted his head, chuckling a little at Harry's rush of questions, "_Patience little one. One question at a time please,"_ it said gently before shifting and curling its limbs beneath it as it lay on the shifting floor of colors, "_My name is Arceus. I am the being of creation. Many…many years ago, I created this land and Pokémon as well. That world ended through a great Cataclysm, but I still hold sway over the energies of the land. This place that we dwell in is called the Void, which you can think of as a separate, overlaying dimension. It is made up of force that encompasses the land. As for how you got here…I pulled your mind here when Zoroark pushed your transformation. I felt it prudent we meet and talk."_

Harry, at hearing what this being was, suddenly felt very small. His ears flicked back, a troubled look overcoming his face as he stared up at what he could only say was a God. _"Why me?"_ he asked softly.

_"Because you are special, little Harry Potter. I remember your creation well and wanted to see how you had grown. The power inside of you is yet untrained, but you have the ability to become something great,"_ Arceus stated, something akin to a smile gracing the proud being's face.

"_My…creation? You mean you watched my parents when they…did things!"_ Harry barked out, his face flushed and somewhat indignant at such a great breach in privacy. He blushed more when Arceus laughed at him for his words, ducking his head and scowling as he waited for Arceus to finish laughing.

"_No little one, I did not watch them mate,"_ he replied, still chuckling as the little child grumbled darkly at him. "_Rather, I saw your creation after they had done the deed. Your soul was incredibly strong, even then."_

Harry seemed to once more curl in on himself at gaining the attention of something so much greater than himself, before anger curled in his gut, "_If you were watching me from…from even before my birth, then…then why didn't you help! Why didn't you save my parents?!"_

_ "Death is unavoidable, child. They did not fear their own end. Rather, when the time came and they were killed, their souls cried out in fear of yours,"_ Arceus stated softly.

"_But you could have _saved _them. They didn't have to die!" _Harry replied as he furiously wiped tears from his eyes, finding the somewhat natural task difficult to do with paws. Arceus appeared to wait for a moment, either thinking up a reply, or in order for Harry to once more calm down his rampant emotions.

"_I could not save them, Harry Potter, no more than I could save the vast majority of my own kind. It was…inevitable,"_ Arceus said, sighing heavily as his shoulders slumped. A great weight seem to overcome the proud being just then. "_Power takes a long time, longer than I thought, to regenerate. Compared to how we were before, we're mere shades of what we once were…what we could be. I was aware of your existence, as I was aware of everyone else's existence, but I was asleep child. I could see, but not act. I am sorry,"_ he explained. Harry was shocked to see a tear trail down Arceus' cheek, blooming against the floor before being absorbed into the ether.

The emotions crossing Arceus' face made him feel incredibly guilty. "_I'm sorry…I really am. I didn't mean to lash out at you,"_ Harry murmured.

"_Apology accepted little one. On another note, while I could not act, the cries of anguish from your parents, coupled with their ability to manipulate energy, their magic as you call it, did summon something to aid you,"_ Arceus stated as he flicked his head. A humming, almost haunting melody swam from the ether, growing and withering with each passing moment as strange letter like creatures pulled themselves from the nothing around them. They swam in arcs around the two of them, their song becoming a gentle backdrop to their conversation.

"_What are they?!" _Harry exclaimed, surprised by their sudden appearance. The creature's whizzed about for a moment, their tempo increasing, before falling back onto their gentle lullaby. Several pulled away from the group and circled Harry, chirping and humming about him. They were…strangely comforting.

"_They are the Unown; letter like Pokémon, or Runic like Pokémon depending on your view, with extremely strange powers. Naturally, they are quite timid, but in a group they are incredibly strong with the abilities to warp even the very reality around them."_

Harry nodded grinning slightly as the Unown Pokémon circled him and Arceus in a twisting loop that took the form of a figure eight. "_It…seems like they're missing one,"_ he pointed out lightly as he counted out the Pokémon.

"_Hm, so they are,"_ Arceus replied with an expression similar to a smirk. "_As I was saying though, the Unown heard your parents wish and acted accordingly. They circled around you and warped reality so the spell your parents wove around you upon their death would be…boosted. Unfortunately, that killing curse is a nasty bit of work and managed to…damage one of their own."_

Harry frowned lightly, "_The one that is missing?" _ He asked as he looked sadly at the dancing Pokémon, "_I'm very sorry, I didn't think…I don't…I didn't want anyone else hurt. Is it…dead?"_

Arceus shook his head, "_No, not dead and possibly healed fully by now. However it is…stuck."_

_ "Stuck where?"_ Harry asked, his head tilting in confusion.

Arceus shifted, pulling his immense weight back onto four hooves. "_Oh, I'm sure you'll figure that out on your own, little Harry Potter. For now, I think it's time to leave."_

_ "Leave?! You can't leave now! I have so many questions. I don't understand anything yet!" _Harry cried as he too jumped to his paws. Compared to the size of Arceus, he was a mere bug next to him, but the gentle giant merely turned, chuckling, towards the youth.

"_I am not leaving. You are,"_ He stated clearly. "_I cannot keep you here any longer, but do not fret little one. We shall have a chance to meet and talk again."_

Harry scowled, his lips turned up in a snarl as he tried to move closer to Arceus, only to find that the pressure had returned and his body refused to move an inch, "_When? When will we talk again?"_

_ "Soon. I promise, we will speak again one day. For now, stay close to Zoroark. She won't steer you wrong."_

Harry woke up. It was sudden and rather jarring, his breath coming in erratic gasps as the world around him came into focus with excruciating slowness. The darkly shimmering void he had gotten so used to was gone, though the melody sung by the unown seemed slow to leave him. Instead, the world seemed to be replaced with dark crimson…fur? He reached out, stunned to see paws instead of hands press against the fuzz.

In fact, now that he was more awake and aware of himself, Harry could tell that wherever he was and whatever he was on was moving, though very slowly. Like whatever he was on was…breathing? Shifting about, Harry clambered his way out of the mane of hair and popped out into the open, blinking at the bright sunlight that streamed through the trees. The area around them was flat this time, and very lush. The air felt cleaner somehow and Harry couldn't help but wag his tail at his surroundings.

That was, at least, until he remembered the night before and that, considering it was morning, he had been missing all night. "_Oh no! My friends! Mr. Weasley! They must all be so worried!"_ he shouted as he jumped out of the comfortable nest of fur and onto the ground. "_Wait, I was asleep in your _hair?!_"_

Zoroark blinked blearily at him, obviously still half asleep and only understand part of the conversation. She yawned, showing razor sharp teeth, before stretching and idly scratching her head, "_It is the most natural place to put a sleeping Zorua. A Zoroark's fur is hard to breach and naturally soft and concealing. At any rate, when you feinted last night, I could not return you to your pack as you were. I returned here, to the Swordsman clearing, while you rested. You looked like you had troubled dreams though. Was everything alright?"_

Harry frowned, his paws kneading into the earth before he sighed and shrugged, "_I saw someone…he pulled me somewhere he called Void or Ether or something. He said his name was Arceus."_

"_You met the Divine Arceus!"_ exclaimed Zoroark, her tone partly one of disbelief and part awe. "_What did he speak to you about?"_

Harry hesitated for a moment, before sighing faintly. Some of the things he and Arceus spoke of felt incredibly personal, but he trusted Zoroark to keep his secrets and he wouldn't mind some advice on how to proceed. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he quickly filled Zoroark in on what he had seen in his 'dream'. "_So you never actually spoke to Arceus? I though, being a legendary and all, that you would have met him."_ He mused as he finished retelling what had happened, even down to the sudden appearance of unown and the baffling case of their missing member.

Zoroark, who had politely remained silent during Harry's narration, shook her head. "_I've met some of the others, mostly Celebi and the Swordsman, but never Arceus. You must understand Harry, until something happened in my youth, I was a regular Zoroark. Sure, Zoroark and Zorua__,__ on their own__,__ have an incredibly long lifespan and were rare, but they were still considered normal, that is, non-legendary Pokémon."_

Harry looked abashed at his baseless assumption and nodded quickly, "_What happened to make you like you are now?"_

_ "I died,"_ Zoroark replied simply, "_And due to the actions of my son and several, wonderful people, Celebi brought me back to life. It wasn't until the Cataclysm happened that he, and myself, realized his healing came with…consequences. I do not regret it though, as it enabled me to meet you."_

Shocked silence met her statement as Harry stared up at Zoroark, his eyes wide with shock at how casually she had said her words. _"You died?"_

"_For a time. No longer than a few minutes really. It was peaceful, but I had unfinished things to do and a son to look after. Celebi pulled me back from the brink and was only able to because, even in death, I was fighting to see my son again,"_ Zoroark said, her tone soft and filled with a little amount of pain. _"He is now gone, like all the others, but he lived a good life. A long life, even for a Zoroark, for he did eventually evolved. He did me proud. At any rate, I now I have you to look after and I have a feeling you'll cause just as much trouble as he did,"_ she added with a laugh. Her laughter faded awkwardly as she looked down at Harry, who was sniffling cutely, his wide eyes sparkling with tears.

_"You consider me your son?"_ He questioned, his tone filled with emotion.

"_Only as long as you allow me too. Like I said before little Zorua, I will take care of you and keep you safe, like any mother should to their child."_ Zoroark replied evenly. Harry sniffled, but seemed to wrestle his emotion's under his control once more. Instead of being teary eyed, he seemed mildly awkward and hesitant.

_ "I've never had a mother. My Aunt doesn't really qualify as one and Mrs. Weasley is great and all, but she doesn't really feel like my…like a mother to me. I'd…like that, but…but I'm not sure…"_ He said awkwardly, biting his lip a little as he glanced nervously up at Zoroark.

_"You fear you'd be replacing your birth mother?"_ Zoroark finished gently. At Harry's nod, she smiled, "_Little one, I won't be replacing anyone. Your mother is still your mother. My taking her place currently only means that I care deeply for you. You don't have to call me mother either, if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm fine with Zoroark."_

Silence stretched between them for a moment, before Harry nodded, "_I can agree with that, I guess. Arceus did say to stay close."_

A flash of emotion seemed to pass across Zoroark's face again, before she nodded her head and glanced upwards. The sun had moved faintly across the sky, filling the clearing they were in with even more warmth. "_Quite some time has passed. We'd best get you back home. Do you know how to change back?"_ Zoroark asked.

_"I think so…the book said I just have to imagine what I was before and force the magic to act acordinly," _Harry replied as he scrunched up his nose in thought. There was a faint POP and Harry sat on the grass, instead of the little pokemon from before. Zoroark frowned. "_What?"_

_ "Didn't work. That's an illusion Harry. Try again,"_ Zoroark informed as she reached over and tugged his hair. Another faint pop and he was Zorua once more. This continued for a good ten minutes, with Harry transforming back only for Zoroark to inform him it was an illusion, before Harry managed to get his real human self back, though he looked exhausted.

"That…that was difficult…" he murmured gently as he got to his feet, his legs shaking beneath him.

_"It was a bit troublesome, but you managed in the end. You hair is still red at the tips though. I suppose that just won't ever leave,"_ Zoroark replied as her form shimmered and a tall, slightly tanned woman took her place. Long auburn hair spilled down to her knees, held back by the same glowing blue bead that was tied to the bottom of her mane. _"You'll have to be careful to not allow people to tug on it or it'll force you back as a Zorua again. You're human at the moment, not an illusion, but if you change and I'm not there…you could get stuck as a Zorua and I don't want you using your illusion powers for that long. Now then, shall we get you back to you pack?"_

Harry's jaw dropped as he took in Zoroark's new appearance, "This is…an illusion?!"

Zoroark laughed, _"That it is. I wasn't about to let you wander this forest alone," _ she said with a shake of her head, _"I can even make it seem as though I'm speaking from my mouth like any normal human, instead of telepathy. Like I said before, our illusions encompass all the senses."_

"That's…really cool. So you made this form look like your Zoroark form, not someone else, why?" He asked as he stood, dusting off his pants and glancing up at Zoroark. Unlike when she was in her real form, she was easily taller than him in this illusionary one. Her Pokémon form was barely taller than him after all.

_"Because it was easier and if I take the looks of someone else to get you back to your pack and that person shows up, even in the background, it could be troublesome. I shall use this one instead,"_ Zoroark answered as she motioned for Harry to follow and started walking towards the trees. Harry hesitated for a moment, before hurrying after her.

They walked quietly for awhile, Harry focusing more on climbing over fallen logs and sticking to a path that seemed, more often than not, to wind back onto itself. He was hot and sweaty and somewhat miserable, but didn't complain. "We're really far into the forest, aren't we…" he mused as he jumped off a log, stumbling a little, before continuing on.

"_We were, but we're nearing the edge of the forest now. I think I can hear your pack."_Zoroark said. Harry found it strange to hear her speak while moving her lips. It was like an echo really. He'd hear her voice in his head, but her lips would move just slightly after the words fully formed in his mind.

"What will you tell them? I mean, I was missing all night and they must be frantic," Harry said as he wiped sweat from his brow and sighed as they came upon a real path. All that round about walking had truly tired him out.

_"I will think of something. Remain silent until I speak and agree with what I say and they shouldn't think anything wrong or suspicious." _

"Okay," Harry replied as he glanced around. Zoroark had said she heard his pack-er, his friends and Mr. Weasley, but he couldn't hear anything. Now that he was back as a human again, his senses seemed really dull, like his ears were clogged with cotton and his nose stuffed up, even though he could breathe just fine. "There! Mr. Weasley! Bill! Charlie!" Harry called as he spotted a few red heads near the very edge of the forest. They looked worn out, their clothing ruffled and covered in sticks and leaves. Bill had a bandage wrapped around his arm and seemed to move it very gingerly. At the sound of his voice, all three jumped and looked over, before breaking out in relieved grins and rushing over.

Zoroark reached over quickly, placing a hand on Harry shoulder to stop him from rushing over to greet them. It was petty of her, maybe even childish, but she wanted just a little more time with him.

"Harry! We've been looking for you all night! When the mark hit the sky-that is, we're glad you're alright," Mr. Weasley said as they caught up. He wiped at his own brow with a handkerchief, sighing slightly in the summer heat.

"The little one here and myself got a bit lost in the forest. I saw him fall down an embankment, because of the rushing crowd. I had to wait a bit, but I managed to climb down and get him," Zoroark stated, a kind, friendly smile stretching across her face. Harry blushed at being called little, before blinking as he realized Zoroark had spoken. He barely caught himself from asking how she was doing that.

_"Before, I only placed the illusion to make me look human, Harry. Around them, I strengthened it so that they, and you, see me speak like any other human,"_ Zoroark's voice intoned in his head.

"Oh really? Thank you so much but…why didn't you make it out of the forest?" Charlie asked as he gave Harry a once over. It suddenly occurred to Harry that he was still in his pajamas, with only a jacket to cover himself. He flushed, sticking his hands into his pockets as he glanced down at the ground and towards his rumbled, dirty night clothes.

"I…could not, that is…he was injured. The embankment was incredibly steep and Harry here was knocked out. I assume he must've hit a rock. I found it not safe to move him, so made myself as comfortable as possible. He just recently awoke, which is why we didn't managed to get through the forest and to here until now," She replied as she ruffled Harry's hair.

Harry scowled and smacked her hand away, though not out of anger. The action just made him feel too much like a child. Although, being around Zoroark made him feel like that constantly.

"Well, regardless…thank you so much Miss…?" Bill asked as he extended his good arm.

"You may call me Camarin," Zorork answered, still smiling. "Now I really must be going and young Harry here could do with a change of clothes, don't you think?" She mused with a chuckle.

"Ah….right, thank you very much for looking out for him, Camarin," Mr. Weasley said as he shook her hand once more.

"Oh it was no problem. He's a sweet child," Zoroark stated as she turned towards Harry. She looked at him for a moment, her expression hard to decipher, before smiling again. "You take care of yourself young man. No more getting pushed down dangerous embankments."

"Oh, uh…I'll try not to," Harry replied, blinking up at Zoroark. "A-and thank you! I mean, for coming after me and staying with me and all. Thanks."

"It was nothing child. Do take care, will you?" She added as she bowed to the lot of them before walking off. When Mr. Weasley, Charlie and Bill looked away to deal with Harry, she vanished into the forest, her illusion fading.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Charlie asked as he put a hand on the boys shoulder and steered him towards the tent.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired still, I guess," He muttered, his eyes trailing over where Zoroark had disappeared. He suddenly felt very lonely, though knew she'd be able to find him again with that weird sensing thing she had described almost a day ago now. Had it really only been about a day since they had met? 'So much has happened, that it feels like more time has passed,' Harry thought as they entered the tent.

As his friends, his pack as Zoroark called them, rushed over to greet and worry over him, Harry felt faintly guilty over not worrying over them as much as they had worried over him.

"Are you sure you're alright Harry? It must have been scary, what happened in the forest," Hermione said, hugging him tightly.

"Oh, no…I was fine. Z-er-Camarin was with me all night I guess. She took pretty good care of me while I was out of it," He said with a smile as he reached for a change of clothes.

"Are you sure? Honestly sure?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes Hermione. Camarin was…very kind," Harry replied evenly, before pointedly looking at her. She blushed and left him alone to change. Once she was gone, Harry sighed and stared at the clothing in his hands, then gave a long hard look at his fingers, his palm and the shape of his nails. He clenched his fingers, before shaking his head, relaxing the clenched appendages and changing. He was human again, he should be happy about that, but he only felt wrong.

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EverD: Longest. Chapter. Evah! I had a lot of muse going for me though, so I suppose that's something. (I also felt bad about taking so long to up-date, so consider this a gift for sticking with the story despite that!) Don't expect two updates so close together again though. It'll be a rare occurrence, I think. xD Also, I'm looking into cover art. Anyone wanna help with that? You'd have my undying gratitude!


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